Romancing the Stone Toa
by Fatala
Summary: When an unexpected visitor arrives on Mata Nui, Pohatu finds himself more than just a friend.
1. Chapter 1

Romancing the Stone . . . Toa

By Fatala

I finally put up this story! This story has been knawing at me for a long time. After reading most of the Bionicle fanfics I noticed that no one seemed to have written a romance fanfic with Pohatu. So since he is my favorite of the Toa Nuva I decide it was time for that to change. I have never done a romance before, mainly because I was never a fan of the mushy, lovey-dovey stuff, so please bear with me.

I don't own Bionicle or the title "Romacing the Stone", I just decide to borrow it because it seemed so appropiate. I only own Kassy and I'm not making any money for this so please don't sue me.

Chapter 1: So They Meet.

Kassy sighed to herself as she laid on the couch watching tv. It was another sunny July day; her parents had left early that morning, one to a convention, the other on a company retreat. That left her with no car, and nothing to do. She probably would have continued to do nothing if the phone hadn't of rung at that moment. Glancing lazily at the phone she let it ring again before moving to answer it. "Hello?", she asked picking up the phone.

"Hey Kassy. What 'cha doing?", greeted the girl on the other end.

"Nothing much. Why what's up Nickie?", she asked her friend.

"We're going camping. Want to come?"

"I wish I could but i'm stranded here with no car."

"How 'bout I meet you at Darce's? It's not too far is it?" Kassy thought about it. Her house was out in the MON (middle of nowhere) and afew miles from her closes neighbor's house. But that house was Darce's and if she took the short cut through the quarry . . .

"I'll be there in about a hour.", Kassy answered slyfully.

"Great! I'll tell Kim and Genny. Bye!"

"Bye.", she finished hanging up the phone. Jumping of the couch Kassy started packing. Some snacks, drinks, her CD player, a couple of CDs, the essentials, and she was packed. Kassy hoisted the backpack on her back and she was out the door.

It took her about a half an hour to make it to the quarry, just as the guards were leaving for lunch. Kassy glanced at her watch. 12:05. 'Good. It should take me another fifteen minutes to make it to Darce's house. I've got plenty of time.', she thought to herself smiling. The guards soon left leaving the coast clear.

"This is too easy.", she chuckled to herself as she crept out of the woods, following the road down to the bottom. The quarry was just a large area which had been dug into the earth for the purpose of mining the rocks, her father use to take her there before it was closed off to the public. Reaching the bottem she made her way across towards the oppisite exit when she noticed a strange glow amongst the dull grey granite off to her left. "What's that?", Kassy asked herself out loud walking over to where it was. The glow seemed to be coming from a strange stone which was partially buried in a freshly unearthed area. Digging it out she saw it was a crystal of precious opal. The beautiful sky blue crystal was kalidescoped with speckles of red, gree, orange/brown, white, black, and dark blue. Kassy had never seen anything like it before in her life. The hypnotic dance of colors made the crystal glow in an almost unearthly light. Suddenly the ground under her feet began to shake violently. Hearing the sound of crumbling stone she looked up at the top of the cliff, several blouders had been broken lose and were falling down towards her. She shoved the crystal into her bag as she sprinted out of the way just in time. Looking behind her, Kassy saw the boulders crash into the ground right where she hand been standing afew seconds ago. Just then the ground began to quake again, this time stronger than the last. Kassy looked down just as the ground gave way beneath her feet, revealing the black abyss below. She screamed out as she fell, further and further, until her head hit something hard sending her into unconsciousness.

The sun beated down at the dry, sandy desert ground as a warm wind blew threw the air. Standing atop of a tall cliff, Pohatu looked out at his home. He could see the village of Po-Koro in the distance surrounded by the desert plains of the Po-Wahi. Life had somewhat returned to normal after the Toa Nuva's last encounter with the Makuta. Since then the Toa's main task had been the restoration and rebuilding of their island home. 'It feels good to be home.', Pohatu thought happily breathing in the warm air. Pohatu was about to activate his Kanohi Kakama when he heard something that made him stop. 'A Rahi maybe?' It sounded like something breathing, but it was low and shallow; over to his right. Following the sound he soon found it's source. Pohatu stopped and stared at the strangest Rahi he had ever seen, if it was even a Rahi. It looked more like a Toa than a Rahi to him. Whatever it was it was hurt, he could see a small pool of blood near the top of it's head. Kneeling beside it, Pohatu slowly and gently raised it's head to see a bloody yet shallow gash. A groan escaped her lips as Kassy began to regain consciousness. Pohatu noticed it was waking up, a pair of smokey blue eyes stared up at him. Slowly her vision cleared reveiling the idenity of her rescuer which was not what she was expecting. Instead of seeing on of the security guards she found herself staring up at a strange, masked, biomechanical being. Seeing it's shock he tried to make light of the situation.

"You really bumped your head there didn't you.", he said with a smile. In a normal situation Kassy would have remained calm but this situation was far from normal. She quickly struggled out of his arms and tried to run but she didn't get very far as a disabling pain ran through her head causing her to collapse. Pohatu came to her side and gently picked her up into his arms. Kassy tried to force her way free again but this time Pohatu only tightened his grip. "Look, I'm not trying to hurt you. I just want to help." He looked down at her; she was trembling, her eyes having turned grey to relect her fear. Kassy stared up into his warm amber eyes which were obviously filled with concern. For some strange reason something inside told her that she could trust him. Kassy finally forced herself to calm down and after a moment she slowly nodded to him. "Now that's better. See I'm not that scary of a guy.", Pohatu smiled. "My villages is a little ways away. It'll be faster if I run so you might want to hold on.", he said again as he began to gather his energy. Although she didn't understand, Kassy followed his suggestion wrapping her arms around him. Just as she did he took off running. The landscape flew past them as Kassy tried to stay conscious, but it was no use. The gash on her head, and lose of blood, combined with the sudden burst of speed caused her to black out again.

Pohatu ran as fast as he could with his strange find back to Po-Koro. Several Matoran noticed his approach and ran off to tell Turaga Onewa that Pohatu had returned. He slowed down just before reaching Po-Koro's gates. "There we're here. Wasn't that fun?", he said cheerfully looking down at Kassy. Pohatu's grin turned into a look of surprise as he saw that she had blacked out. "I- I guess I went alittle too fast.", he said to himself sheepishly. He then turned his attention to Turaga Onewa who came out to greet him. 'I better not mention this to Onewa. He'd probable smack me in the head with his hammer staff.', Pohatu thought to himself before telling his elder of his find.

To be continued . . .

I hope it's good. I just wanted to thank Whale Shark 7 of giving me the much needed push of encouragement to finally get this story started. The next story I'll be posting a new chapter for is One's Destiny. The Chibi Curse will have to wait a little longer, atleast 'til I have a weekend alone with the two C and S's. I'm not only talking about Chaos and Stupidity but also caffine and sugar! 'Til next time bye.


	2. Chapter 2

Romancing the Stone . . . Toa

By Fatala

Its been a tough month but I finally finished this chapter. I think this is the longest chapter I have wrote so far. Ofcourse I was in a daze for half the time I wrote it so that could explain somethings.

Chapter 2: Meetings, Kohlii, and Water; Oh My!

Pohatu was now sitting in his hut with the mysterious young woman and Turaga Onewa, who was now wrapping a small cloth around the said girl's head to cover her wound.

"So you just found her out in the desert alone.", asked Onewa as her finished tieing the cloth.

"That's right.", Pohatu nodded.

"I highly doubt that she just fell from the sky; atleast by accident.", the wise Turaga said turning to the Toa Nuva. He then noticed a pack of some sort sitting next to Pohatu's leg. "You found that with her as well?"

"Yes, but I haven't bothered to see what was in it."

"I see.", he said with a heavy sigh before moving to leave. Then he stopped at the door way with his back still to Pohatu. "Never drop your guard around her. We don't know who she is or where she comes from. As far as we know she could be another of Makuta's minions.", Onewa said grimly before leaving Pohatu alone with the girl; he had to gather his thoughts for a moment.

Was he right to assume that she was working for Makuta or had Mata Nui brought her to their island for a reason. Onewa wasn't sure. He had been wrong more than once when it came to judging and trusting some people. Heck, he had once thought that Vakama was cross-wired and his visions were only because of spending to much time in front of a forge. He had been wrong then, was he wrong now? Only time would tell.

'She can't be one of Makuta's minion . . . could she?', Pohatu thought to himself as he turned to look at the stranger. He watched her curiously as she slept soundly; she was unlike anyone or anything he had ever seen. She wore red armor over her chest, light blue over her legs, and black on her feet, but what she wore seemed to delicate to be armor. It was more like three different types of strange cloth. Getting up from his seat Pohatu walked over to her, lightly touching her cheek as he moved a stay piece of hair out of her face. Her skin was soft; softer than a Toa's, and pleasantly warm to the touch. It's color reminded him of the fine desert sand and her hair was brown like the rich brown earth of Mata Nui. She was about as tall as Gali, just a little shorter, with a slim yet strong body.

Turaga Onewa moved the clothed that covered the door way aside as he was about to enter, but stopped at seeing Pohatu standing over the young woman. He smiled to himself stepping back outside before Pohatu could notice him. 'I hope I am wrong.'

'She's beautiful.', Pohatu thought absently. He was caught off guard by his suddenly thought which caused him to pull his hand back. 'What am I thinking!', he thought again shaking his head. 'I have to remember what Turaga Onewa said.' Looking at her again Pohatu could not help but feeling uncertain. 'Could she really be working for Makuta?'

Kassy could feel a slight coolness even with the warm air as she began to wake up. Opening her eyes she stared up at a dull, stone brown ceiling. Turning her left she noticed Pohatu standing near her, in fact he was almost standing over her. This time when Kassy saw him she wasn't afraid, to her surprise she was almost relieved to have him near her.

"How are you feeling?", Pohatu asked with a smile. 'Well atleast she doesn't seem afraid anymore. That's good.', Pohatu thought hopefully seeing how calm she was.

"Better than before, thanks to you.", she said sitting up. As soon as she did a sharp pain ran threw her head causing her to close her eyes, and grab her head with her hand as she hissed in pain. Pohatu turned to the small table near the bed and poured a small amount of juice into a cup.

"Here, drink this.", Kassy looked up to see Pohatu offering her a small cup. Taking the cup she looked to see a strange blue liquid inside.

"What is it?", she asked warily peering at the drink as if it were poison.

"It's Bohrai berry juice, it will help you feel better.", he explained. She eyed him for a minute unsure but then shrugged her shoulders and began to drink the juice. To her surprized it was sweet. Just as Pohatu had promised the pain in her head slowly began faded away. "Better?", he asked as she finished.

"Surprisingly, yes.", she said handing him back the cup with a small smile. Then she heard an older voice call from outside the stone hut.

"Pohatu. Is our guest finally awake?", asked Turaga Onewa as he walked in.

"Yes she is.", answered Pohatu as he shifted his attention to his Turaga. Kassy looked to see the light, almost dull, brown Turaga approaching them. 'He must be his elder.', thought Kassy feeling the aura of wisdom around him.

"My name is Onewa, I am the Turaga of Po-Koro. I am sure you have already met Toa Pohatu.", Onewa introduced.

"Yes, I have.", she confirmed. 'Pohatu. . . So that is his name.', she thought looking up at Pohatu.

"And, if I may ask, is your name?', asked Onewa politely.

"It's Kassy.", she said turning back to the Turaga.

"Its good to meet you Kassy. I'm quite curious to know how you got here to Mata Nui. It is not everyday that mysterious strangers fall from the sky."

"I don't know. All I remember is that I was heading to my friends when there was an earthquake. Then a fissure suddenly appeared beneath me and I fell in. The next thing I knew I was looking up at Pohatu.", she answered.

"I see. Hmm. . .", Onewa said thinking. "I will need to consult the other Turagas about this.", he finished before walking out. Kassy looked up at Pohatu wondering what would happen to her now.

"You should rest here.", he said with a gently smile. "I'll be back later with something for you to eat.", Pohatu finished before following Turaga Onewa out. Kassy sighed to herself and was about to lay back down when she noticed her backpack, sitting beside the bed. She opened it up and grabbed her C.D. player and a couple C.D.s when she noticed something. The strange crystal she had found in the quarry was still there. She picked it up at looked at it, it was no longer glowing like it was before. 'Strange.', she thought to herself before sticking it back in her bag. After starting a C.D. she slipped on her headphones and layed back down; it didn't take her long to fall back asleep.

She woke a couple hours later. When she did she found a bowl of the strangest fruit she had ever seen sitting on the small table nearby. 'Pohatu must have brought this.', she thought grabbing a purple, apple shaped fruit. She took a small bite to find it was almost like an orange in taste. After finishing it and a few orange grape like fruit Kassy decide it was time to find the one named Pohatu. Grabbing her backpack Kassy stepped out of the small stone hut and into the streets of Po-Koro. The city, like the desert landscape, was colored in various shades of brown and tan; and seemed to be made completely of stone. Several Matoran stopped to watch her, some seemed curious while others seemed to be afraid of her. She smiled nervously before moving off down one of the streets.

It didn't take very long for Kassy to get lost; everything looked the same to her. The same stone huts and dry desert streets, it felt as if she had been wandering in circles. She stopped in confusion and sighed to herself as she slumped against a hut in defeat. 'I'll never find him at this rate.'

Hewkii walked out of his hut, kohlii stick slung over his shoulder; it was time for practice. As he made his way towards the kohlii field he stopped havin' noticed Kassy sitting alone. She was untieing the bandage around her head. He had heard that Pohatu had brought an odd stranger back to the village. 'That must be her.', concluded Hewkii as he walked over to her.

"Hello." Kassy opened her eyes to see a Matoran standing infront of her. He had some sort of sport stick with him; his armor was like most of the others, brown and tan.

"Hello.", she greeted back with a small smile.

"Your the strange Toa that Pohatu Nuva found out in the Po-Wahi, aren't you?", he asked innocently.

"I guess I am.", she shrugged. 'Why does everyone refer to me as a Toa? Whatever a Toa is.', she thought to herself forlornly having heard some other Matoran refering to her by the same name. "Speaking of Pohatu I was looking for him. I kind of got lost. Would you happen to know where he is?", she asked rubbing the back of her head, a little embarassed to admit that she was lost.

"Of course. He's at the Kohlii field. I'm headed there right now, just follow me.", he laughed with a smile as he jogged off. Kassy got up and followed after the Matoran.

"By the way, what is Kohlii?", she wondered out loud. Hewkii stopped in his tracks and spun around towards her; Kassy almost tripped on him not prepared for the sudden stop.

"You don't know what Kohlii is!", he asked in shock not believing what he had heard.

"Umm. . . No.", she admitted. "I don't know much about this place. I've never been here before.", she finished when he still looked stunned.

"Oh.", he said in amazement. "Well that's ok. Me and Pohatu can teach you.", he said leading the way again. "By the way my name's Hewkii."

"I'm Kassy." By the time they reached the Kohlii field Hewkii had explained the basic rules and tactics of Kohlii. Kassy looked around the arena like sports field. She was amazed at all the Matoran in the Kohlii field, some where practicing, some talking, and others cheering their favorite players. It didn't take Hewkii long to spot Pohatu.

"There he is.", he said directing Kassy towards the stone Toa. Kassy saw Pohatu with several Po-Matoran who were practicing. He was like a great giant compared to the Matoran; heck, he towered over her by atleast a foot. Yet it amazed her at how gentle and kind he was to them, it was as if he was a big brother to the young Po-Matoran. Hewkii called to Pohatu as they came over.

"Hewkii!", he called happily. Pohatu than noticed Kassy with him. "Kassy, I see you meet Hewkii."

"Yes. I was . . . looking around the village . . . when I got lost. He found me and offered to show me around.", she said nervously. 'I can't tell him I was looking for him. What would he think?', she thought averting her eyes from Pohatu's. Hewkii looked up at her obviously confused at why she would lie to Pohatu, then it hit him. 'Oh.', he thought understanding.

"Toa Pohatu, since where here how about we teach Kassy how to play Kohlii.", he suggested.

"That sounds like a good idea. How about it Kassy?", Pohatu asked with a smile. He would have to wait until later to ask about her uneasiness.

"Sure! From what Hewkii told me it sounds like fun.", she said with a smile.

"Ok." At that Pohatu handed her a Kohlii stick. "You'll need this.", he said before taking out his climbing claws. Putting them together he formed a Kohlii ball. "There now we have a ball." He then looked at Kassy but was surprised to see a less than enthused look on her face. Infact she looked at him as if he suddenly had two heads. "What's wrong?"

"You guys are gonna use THAT for a ball!", she asked more than a little shocked.

"Of course. Why?", Hewkii asked not understanding the problem.

"Why! If you two haven't noticed I don't have armor like you guys."

"What about these?", asked Hewkii pulling on her shirt.

"I hardly consider my clothes to be armor."

"Then we'll just have to play gently.", suggested Pohatu. Kassy noticed the slightly smug tone in his voice. "I wouldn't want to hurt a girl after all.", he added with a sly smile. That was it. Kassy wasn't gonna let this stone 'golem' think that she needed to depend on him or anyone else.

"Give me that ball.", she said snatching the make shift Kohlii ball out of Pohatu's hand. With that the game was on.

It was one of the longest and wildest games of Kassy's or Hewkii's life, even Pohatu collapsed after the game. Even though both Pohatu and Hewkii were both experienced Kohlii players, they had a hard time figuring out Kassy's strategy. She had ducked, dodged, and ran as if a Rahkshi was hot on her heels; afew times Pohatu had to activate his mask to keep up with her. After a narrowly close game Pohatu game out the winner, while Kassy and Hewkii were tied for second.

"You . . . only won . . . because of that dumb mask.", huffed Kassy who was laying on the ground. Pohatu just laughed at her comment as he sat up.

"I think I've had enough Kohlii for one day.", said Hewkii standing up a little shakely.

"I never thought I'd ever hear you say that Hewkii.", Pohatu laughed again.

"Neither did I.", he said picking up his Kohlii stick. "I'm gonna head home."

"See ya, Hewkii!", Kassy called after him as the Matoran left. For a minute Kassy and Pohatu just sat there getting their energy back.

"I think I now know how Takanuva felt after fighting Makuta.", Pohatu said thinking out loud.

"Who's Makuta?", asked Kassy sitting up. It was obvious by the look on her face that she had no clue who he was talking about.

"Uhh . . . Never mind. I bet your hungery, we should get some food.", he said quickly changing the subject. Pohatu stood up and offered her his hand, which she took and stood up with him.

"Naw, I'm not really hungery but what I could use is a bath.", she said looking down at herself. Her shirt, and shoes where all dusty and her pants were ripped in several places.

"A bath?", he asked tilting his head to one side like a confused dog. She looked at his just as confused.

"You know a bath." The look on Pohatu's face told her that he still didn't understand. "You know soap, shampoo, water." At the last word Pohatu cringed. He hated water, everyone in Po-Koro did. Well everyone except this strange Toa.

"There's a small oasis not far from here. I'll take you there.", he said with a half smile. As they left Kassy picked up her backpack which she had put down before the game. Turaga Onewa watched them as they headed for the gates of the village. 'I wonder where those two are going.', he thought curiously. Once the where outside Po-Koro's gates, Pohatu quickly picked Kassy up into his arms.

"Hey! What are you doing?", she asked surprized.

"Well if you want to get there and back before dark, its the fastest way." Before Kassy had a chance to answer he activated the Kanohi Kakama and in a flash they were gone.

It took only a few seconds to reach the small oasis Pohatu had mentioned. As he came to a halt Pohatu set Kassy down. She swayed alittle; even though it was only a short ride it still made her dizzy.

"I don't know if I'll ever get use to your speed.", Kassy moaned as her head finally finished spinning.

"You will, in time.", Pohatu said with a grin.

"Well lets not push it. Next time we walk."

"Ok.", Pohatu gave in as Kassy looked at the small oasis. It was lined with several palm tree type trees and other desert shrubs. She wiped the sweat from her forehead as she walked towards the crystal clear water. Pohatu followed her but still kept a good distance between himself and the water. Walking over to a bush Kassy sat her bag down and started looking threw it. Pohatu watched curiously wondering what she was looking for. Before he could ask she had apparently found what she was looking for, she then turned her attention towards him.

"Turn around.", she ordered in a friendly way.

"Why?", Pohatu asked not understanding.

"Just turn around.", Kassy said again except more seriously.

"Ok.", he shrugged turning his back towards her. With that she slipped into the bush and began changing. 'I don't understand why I had to turn around.', Pohatu thought to himself as he waited. "Can I turn around now?", he called back to Kassy.

"Sure I done any ways.", she said walking out of the bush. When Pohatu turned around he was shocked and a little confused at what he seen.

"What happened to your armor?", he asked shocked.

"What do you mean? I just changed into my bathing suit." It was true, insteand of her normal clothes she was now wearing a light blue bikini. Pohatu was about to ask something else when Kassy ran and jumped into the cool water causing Pohatu to be hit by the splashing water. As she swam around enjoying the water, he sat down next to Kassy's bag; Pohatu then noticed a strange glow radiating from the bag. He was about to see what it was when he seen Kassy pop her head up right near the shore.

"Hey, Pohatu. Can you hand me my bag?", she called from the water.

"Umm . . . sure.", he said nerviously. He picked up the bag and headed nearier towards the water. Pohatu stopped about a foot from the shore, obviously thinking on weither he should get closer or not. Noticing his neviousness Kassy could help be smirk, then she called:

"I can reach it from there." Swallowing his nervousness he came up to the shore and set the backpack down. He was about to retreat back when Kassy spoke up again.

"Pohatu could you come here." He came to the water's edge. "Kneel." He kneeled. "Bend down. . . Closer. . . Closer . . ." Once he was within reach she flung her arms around his neck and flipped him into the water. Hitting the water Pohatu began to panic but before he could hurt himself a hand grasped his shoulder. "Stand up dummy. The water isn't that deep.", Kassy said standing up. It was true, the water only reached up to her waist.

"Next time warn me before you do that.", he said standing up. He was blushing slightly, weither from nearly drowning or making of fool of himself Kassy couldn't tell. 'I didn't know he couldn't swim, I was only fooling around.', she thought wondering if he was mad at her. Suddenly a wave of water splashed her, knocking her down.

"Hey!", she yelled getting back up.

"That's payback.", Pohatu smiled mischiviously.

"Oh, yeah! Well here's your reciept with interest.", she smiled splashing him with water. He just sheilded his face before sending his own splash attack. For a short while Pohatu had forgotten his fear of water and Kassy her worries about being trapped in this unusual place. But unseen by both of them the strange stone began to glow brightly like a beacon.

To be continued . . .

At one part I thought (It may just be me.) Kassy was almost Mary-Sueish, but I will state this now: She is NOT and never will be a Mary-Sue. And trust me she is far from perfect. Just wait until she meets the rest of the Toa. (Hell will break loose!) Now after that random rambling its time for reviews:

Bionicle-girl, Dragon of Atlantis, FightingFox , and Lavina Toa of Thunder: Thanks for the encouragement.

Whale Shark 7: I'm just glad it helped.

Shadow Dragon04: Yeah there wasn't before but for some reason I've been seeing more Pohatu and Takanuva romances. May be I started a trend. : P Yeah right.

Greenswind and Cheesedude: Yes! But with it last, hmm . . .

Just as I small note: After May 8th expect a bunch of next chapters and stories, the reason for this: college ends! So prepare for more humor, action/adventure, and maybe new romancestories coming soon.


	3. Chapter 3

Romancing the Stone . . . Toa

By Fatala

I know I should be putting up the next chapter Chibi Curse first but it's late and I need to get to sleep. But I promised I will put it up tomorrow or the next day. Anyways enjoy this chapter.

Chapter 3:

After their splash fest Kassy got back to the reason they had come while Pohatu provided as a lookout. He knew that many Rahi used this oasis as a watering hole and he did not want any showing up now.

While he stood guard Kassy took her bath. Once she was finished she slipped out of the water and went back into the bushes to dry off. Once she was back in her normal clothes, she wrapped up the bikini in her towel before picking up her backpack and head toward Pohatu. At hearing Kassy's approach Pohatu turned around. Again he was suprised to see that she had changed her 'armor' again; now she wore a white tank top with a tan pair of shorts.

"Do all Toa where you come from change their armor so much?", he asked as she walked up to him.

"You didn't expect me to wear those dirty clothes did you? And I can't just waltz around in my bathing suit all day can I?", she asked as if the answer was obvious. Atleast it was to her, but to Toa Pohatu. . .

"Why not?", he asked not quite understanding.

"Never mind, it would take too long to explain." Kassy casually cast the question aside as she walked past Pohatu towards Po-Koro.

"You know it would be faster to run.", he said catching up to her.

"No. I've had all the running I can take for one day. Especially at your super-sonic speed."

"But-" Pohatu was about to object when Kassy turned and gave him a death glare that could freeze Kopaka in his tracks. "Ok, ok. we'll walk." He put his hands up in defense.

"Thank you.", she smiled as they continued to walk together. Pohatu rubbed the back out his head in confusion, he just couldn't figure her out. The only girls/women he had known were the Ga-Matoran and Gali, they were usual the quiet and reserved type. Kassy was so much different from them; while the residents of Ga-Koro perfered the quiet peaceful life, Kassy was daring, carefree, yet a little shy. He knew next to nothing about her, except that she had come from some strange island beyond Mata Nui.

"Kassy? What is your island like?", he asked as the question popped into his mind. It was about time he learned about her and where she came from.

"My island?" She shot him a confused look.

"You know. The island where you came from." It was a simple question to him.

"Oh.", Kassy repled finally understanding the question. "Well it's very different from Mata Nui."

"How so?"

"Well, it's alot larger and there is not just one of each Wahi but many of each one. And there are also many different Koros; some larger, others smaller."

"And what about your family?"

"I live with my mom and dad."

"Do you have any brothers or sisters?" Kassy paused a moment before answering.

"Yes, and yet no.", she replied reluctantly.

"What do you mean?"

"I kindof, sortof have or had a brother but-"

"But?"

"He's dead." Kassy bowed her head remorsefully.

"Oh. What was he like?", he asked hoping to lighten things up.

"I don't know. He died before I was born."

"Oh. I . . . didn't know.", Pohatu apologized. He couldn't imagine what it would be like without a brother or a sister. Since he arrived on the island he had always had the other Toa, just thing about not having them around caused him to involinatily shiver.

"It's ok. I didn't know about him until a few weeks ago. My mother told me."

"Why didn't she tell you sooner?", he asked his voice raising in volume shock.

"She was ashamed of what she did so long ago."

"What do you mean?"

"I . . . don't want to talk about it.", Kassy said coldly looking away. There was a long silence between the two as the reached Po-Koro's gates. The twin suns were slowly setting in the sky as several Po-Matoran began light the Matoran equivilent of street lights. Pohatu escorted Kassy back to his hut.

"Are you sure its ok for me to take your hut?", she asked shyly.

"Ofcourse!", he exclaimed with a smile. One the outside it looked as if he had forgotten their discussion but that was far from the truth. "I'll be fine. You need your rest, the morning comes early around here.", he reasured her putting a hand on her shoulder.

"Thank you, Pohatu. Good night.", she said before going inside.

"Good night.", he said before leaving. Kassy laided her stuff down, pulled out her pajamas and changed. Once finished she laided down on the bed and fell asleep.

Pohatu walked through Po-Koro's nearly empty streets. Many of the Matoran were asleep getting their rest for another busy day tomorrow. Turaga Onewa noticed the Toa Nuva's expression as he approached, it was one of sadness and worry. He remembered how Pohatu had returned with Kassy and how somber they both appeared.

"What is wrong, Pohatu?", Onewa asked.

"It . . . its nothing.", he said looking away. Onewa raised an mask ridge/ eyebrow at this. "No it's not nothing.", Toa Pohatu changed his answer. He had never lied to his Turaga and he wasn't about to start now.

"Then what is it?" Slowly Pohatu explained about Kassy's brother and what she had said. "Not everyone is fortunate to have six brothers and a sister but Kassy is use to being an only child. That was how she was raised so it is understandable why she is reluctant to talk about the brother she never knew.", Turaga Onewa explained after Pohatu had finished. "But there is nothing we can do about it."

'There is nothing we can do about it.' That's what Turaga Onewa had said to him but Pohatu couldn't leave it at that. He sat in the bleacher of the Kohlii field thinking. That's when it hit him. A smile spread over his face. It was perfect, the perfect thing to cheer Kassy up. With that Pohatu stood up and quickly made his way towards Po-Koro's gates. He stopped for a quick glance at his hut where Kassy was now sleeping. 'Just what 'til tomorrow. I'll have a special surprise for you Kassy.', he thought happily before leaving Po-Koro and activating his Mask of Speed.

Dawn broke over the island of Mata Nui. The Matoran of Po-Koro were already up and about getting started on today's work. Only one person remain asleep, that was Kassy. Kassy was blissfully sleeping when a shout rang threw the hut.

"Wake up Kassy! It's morning!", yelled Pohatu excitedly as he stood in the doorway. Unprepared for the wake up call Kassy shot up and she fell out of bed with a loud thunk!

"Oww. . .", she groaned untangling herself from her blankets. Blurry eyed she glared up at Pohatu from the floor. "Next time give me some sort of warning before you do that.", she moaned sitting up.

"Sorry about that, but I have a surprise for you. So hurry.", he said before leaving.

"A surprise?", she asked puzzled.

To be continued . . .

Finished! Yeah happiness! A little serious but oh well. Now time for the reviews.

Shadow Dragon04: Don't worry, she'll be meet the other Toa in the next chapter.

Bionicle-Girl & FightingFox: I glad you like the water scene.

Kim Kinne: Thanks for the support.

Whale Shark 7: There's no suspense with love at first sight in my oppion. Hewkii nows what's going on, he's got is own sweetheart; Macku if I remember correctly. Kassy's not gonna let anyone think she is weak, but she does have some painful scars which might resurface. Pohatu is so innocent, that's why I like him. It's kindof funny, because I actually know a guy who is just like him; personality wise. Now, now I can't do that is a K+ fanfic and I wouldn't do that anyways. That would have been funny, but I don't want to go too overboard with sillyness.

Lavina Toa of Thunder: Abandon this story. 0o Never! Hopefully not.

Now I must leave to dream of new plots and rest for my finals. College is almost over, just have to wait for the 12th then . . . freedom!


	4. Chapter 4

Romancing the Stone . . . Toa

By Fatala

Yipes, it's been almost 2 years since I updated!? --; My plot bunnies have been terrible. I am sooooooooo sorry to everyone that has been waiting for so long. Real life has kept me so busy with many things; most of which have been good. I hope everyone can forgive my absence on this and all my other stories that need updating. I'll try to get to them all.

But I should note that several stories might be rewritten; mainly One's Destiny. I'll most likely also rewrite part of chapter 3 of this story. (I didn't like part of it. :P) Other than that everything will remain the same, and hopefully I'm be updating much, much fast.

Chapter 4: Meet the Toa

"Where are we going?" Kassy asked still rubbing her sleepy eyes with her free hand. The sun was still hidden below the horizon, but it's rays were already spreading over the desert sands. Her stone friend hadn't given her much time to get dressed so she had just thrown on the clothes she wore yesterday. Now Pohatu was dragging her towards the gates of Po-Koro as fast as he could without breaking into a run.

"You'll see." he said before picking her up.

"Hey! Wh-" Kassy started to protest but was cut off before she could even start.

"No time to argue if we're gonna get there in time." Pohatu quickly cut her off before racing off with her. 'Not again!' Kassy thought letting out a small yelp and closed her eyes as he accelerated. There was the sound of the air racing by then nothing. Curiously Kassy opened her eyes thinking that they had stopped, but instead she saw the landscape flying past her like lightening. 'I guess Pohatu was right. I am getting use to this.' she thought encouragingly. It really wasn't that bad, it was kind of like riding a rollercoaster; except without the twist, and turns. 'But that doesn't mean I like feeling like a damsel in distress every time he picks me up like this.' he mind added not understanding why he had to carry her. Before she knew it they where atop the white cliffs over looking Ga-Koro.

"We're here." Pohatu announced as he set Kassy down. At first Kassy was confused why he would bring her all the way out here, until she turned around. There in the distance was the rest of the island of Mata Nui which was still partially covered in darkness. Slowly the darkness began reseeded as the twin suns rose in the sky illuminating the rest of the island. Below her she could see the coastal village of Ga-Koro which was a washed in the early morning light. Kassy couldn't believe how beautiful the island of Mata Nui was. Pohatu smiled at her wide-eyed expression.

"It's beautiful." she finally exclaimed.

"I thought you'd like it." he said with a smile. For a long moment Kassy stared mesmerized at the sunrise until a strange voice was heard from behind them.

"Pohatu!" Kassy turned around at the sound of the deep voice. There stood a Toa which had dark grey/black armor, he was a little taller than Pohatu and he wore a different mask.

"Onua!" Pohatu cheerfully greeted his brother as they banged their fists together in a sign of friendship. "It is good to see you brother. How is the reconstruction going?"

"Better than expected. All but the lowest tunnels have been cleared out and some mining has resumed." Onua explained before spotting Kassy. "Who is this brother? A new friend of yours?" he asked Pohatu as he walked up to Kassy. She had to crane her head back just to see his face. 'For once in my life I feel short.' Kassy thought smiling slightly.

"Yes. This is Kassy. Kassy I'd like you to meet my brother Onua, the Toa of Earth." Pohatu introduced.

"It's nice to meet you Onua."

"The pleasure is mine Kassy." said Onua offering her his fist. At first Kassy was unsure of what to do but she then did as Pohatu had done before except more gently. "Haha! There you go, it's not that hard." Onua laughed heartily as he hung an arm over one of Kassy's shoulders. Kassy was about to say something when a sudden breeze blew through from seemingly nowhere. It wasn't a windy day so she found the breeze quite confusing. "It seems Lewa has arrived." Kassy moved out of Onua's grasp to see what he was talking about. At first she saw nothing as she stared out at the island, then she spotted a green figure flying on the air. It wasn't a bird or any air creature she had ever seen. But as it came closer she could tell it was another Toa who seemed to be gliding on the air waves. How he could when there was barely any wind was beyond her.

"Ground brothers! I sun soared as quick-fast as I could." he said making a flawless landing. His armor was mostly green with several areas of silver. He quickly stored away his air kattanas as he walked towards them. Lewa then spotted Kassy who was staring wide eyed at him. "Did ground brothers quick find new Rahi or a new friend?" Lewa asked coming closer, looking at Kassy curiously. He had never seen a Rahi with so little armor before.

"No she's not a Rahi, Lewa. She's a friend, her name's Kassy." Pohatu explained as Onua laughed long and hard at his air brother's question.

"Oh! So she's new sister!" Lewa exclaimed with a bright smile. "Nice to meet you Toa-sister Kassy." he said extending his fist like Onua had. This time Kassy didn't hesitate but answered immediately with her own.

"It's nice to meet you too, Lewa." she smiled clanking her fist to his. She figured that this must be the customary greeting for friends on Mata Nui. It also seemed, by the way the others were regarding her, she must have been the first human they had ever seen. She was probably the only human on the island.

"Mind if I join you brothers?" They all turned to see Gali walking towards them. Pohatu had expected his water sister to be the first to greet him and Kassy but he figured she had watched everything from a distance.

"Gali, it's good to see you." said Onua who had recovered from his laughing spell. Kassy looked at the new arrival, she was blue from almost head to toe, most likely the Toa of water Kassy guessed. She and Gali regarded each other for a minute. Gali had never seen any being; Rahi, Toa, or Matoran like her.

"Hi, my name's Kassy." Kassy introduced herself. Gali was caught off guard by the almost immediate introduction but recovered quickly.

"It's a pleasure to meet you Kassy. My name is Gali." Kassy gladly greeted her. She was almost ready to believe that she might be the only girl on the island, before Gali showed up. In Po-Koro she had noticed that there wasn't a single girl around, which she found very odd.

Pohatu had hoped that Kassy's meeting with the other Toa would be nice, calm, and relaxing and it was. As they waited for Tahu, Takanuva, and Kopaka to arrive Kassy had stuck up conversation with his brothers and sister. Mostly she asked questions about Mata Nui. There seemed to be many things Kassy didn't know about the island.

Of course as they continued chatting Lewa began to ask his own questions about the island Kassy was from. She found it a little hard to explain but she tried her best. Pohatu also listened closely, since Kassy had only explained the basics to him. But the explanation didn't get to in-depth as Tahu, Takanuva, and Kopaka came into view. As always the fire and ice Toa were arguing not caring that the others were watching them. Takanuva stayed back a ways from the pair, not wanting to get involved. He had tried to break it up, but had given up before they even entered the Ga-Wahi.

"Just ignore them, this is normal." Onua said causing he to look away from the bickering brothers.

"Every time they get together." Gali sighed shaking her head.

"I'm know a pair of sisters who are just as bad." Kassy said knowing exactly how these sibling fights usually turned out. Her friends could get pretty nasty when the got into a sisterly spat. It started with yelling back and forth, then would either stop or go on to hair pulling and flying fists. 'Yep. Just like Jessica and Ann.' she thought to herself.

Luckily Tahu and Kopaka didn't take their spat that far as Onua promptly went to break them up.

"Brothers. Is this a way to greet a new arrival, by seeing you two yelling at each other?" Onua asked crossing his arms. Of course neither of them were afraid of Onua's almost fatherly stance, but it did stop the fighting; for now.

"So, this is the new Toa?" Tahu asked brushing past Kopaka and Onua. Takanuva sighed at the fire Toa's rudeness. Kassy had noticed the varying personalities that each of them had, but Tahu and Kopaka's personality differences where the most blaringly obvious. One, an obvious hot-head the other seemed colder than ice.

"Yes, this is Kassy." Pohatu introduced her.

"I am Tahu, Toa of Fire." he said fixing her with a fiery glare. Kassy didn't like the glare but did her best to ignore it.

"N-nice to meet you." she said, half expecting to receive the same greeting as she had gotten from Onua and Lewa but Tahu just snorted slightly. 'Really nice guy.' Kassy thought sarcastically turning too look at the other two Toa who had arrived. Uninitiated by Tahu, Pohatu motioned to Kopaka and Takanuva to finish the introductions.

"And lastly we had Kopaka and our newest brother Takanuva." Takanuva eagerly greeted friendly but Kopaka nearly nodded when his name was said but didn't say anything. 'Definitely ice.' Kassy thought. She had already figure that each of them probably had traits which corresponded to different elements. She had already figured out Pohatu, easily a rock since he hated water and couldn't swim; Tahu, definitely fire with that temper of his; Lewa, air since he flew in when there was hardly a breeze. They others she could guess on the color of their armor.

Kassy didn't get to think too long about when Lewa and Takanuva dragged her into another conversation. The others too started conversations amongst each other, mostly about their villages; at least that's what Kassy heard out of the conversations.

Even as he talked with Tahu, Onua, and Gali, Pohatu's eyes kept wandering back to Kassy. He couldn't help but smile as he watched her chat and laugh. It made him happy to see her getting along with them and that they excepted her; sure Tahu and Kopaka would take a little longer but that was ok. Soon they would start seeing her as another Toa.

Kopaka noticed Pohatu's eyes wandering back and forth between the conversation he was in and Kassy. The ice Toa could easily see that the look in his eyes was different from that he would have for a sister. 'Pohatu is far too trusting. He'll place his trust in someone he doesn't know. But such innocent trust can be easily used against him.'

To be continued . . .

Little seriousness from Kopaka at the end, but I think it works good.

I'm a little to tired to do individual reviews but just let me thank everyone for their encouragement, and again apologize for the horrible tardiness. I hope everyone comes back to enjoy this chapter since there will be more to come.

I'M BACK!!


	5. Chapter 5

Romancing the Stone . . . Toa

By Fatala

Evil, evil plot bunnies. They give me ideas then stray away not helping me wrangle up the muses they create. Evil, evil things they are. Every story or fanfic I start they refuse to finish; but I'm not gonna give up! I'll get those little buggers to cough up more plots for my stories one way or another! *Gets out cattle prodder.*

Chapter 5: Campfire and Marshmallows

Kassy lost track of time as the day began to wear on. Before she knew it, it was lunchtime. Thankfully she wasn't the only one getting hungry, Lewa and Onua went off to find some fruit. Tahu found it the perfect opportunity to use his element to create a campfire; which Kopaka found entertainment in snuffing out the flames when the fire Toa's back was turned. The ice Toa knew just what to do to piss off his elemental counterpart. Gali watched irritatedly as they went into a glaring contest.

The growling in Kassy's stomach reminded her that she hadn't eaten breakfast and wanted food now. Remembering that she had food in her bag, she wished Pohatu hadn't dragged her away without. That thought reminded her that she did have on piece of 'food' on her. Reaching into her back pocket she pulled out a chocolate bar. Unwrapping it, she found it to be a little soft but not melted. Takanuva looked curiously at the 'thing' Kassy had taken out.

"What is that?" he asked looking at the brown bar of dark chocolate. Takanuva's question gained the attention of Gali and Pohatu; Kopaka and Tahu were too focused on glaring at each other to care.

"It's food; of sorts." she couldn't really classify it as food, more of a snack.

"But what kind?" Pohatu questioned. Just like Kassy when she first saw the fruit he had brought her, the Stone Toa was unsure of what to make of what was before them.

"I've never seen food come in that shape or form." Gali spoke looking at the chocolate bar suspiciously.

"It's chocolate. Here try some." Kassy offered as she broke three pieces off of the bar. The three Toa each took a piece, still not 100% sure if it was edible. Pohatu sniffed it, finding it to have a strange sweet almost bitter smell. Taking tentative bites they found it went from hard to smooth in their mouths. It tasted like it smelt only better.

"This is good." Pohatu smiled eating the rest of his piece.

"Does all the food on your island taste like this?" Takanuva asked as Kassy munched on a piece of her own.

"No. There's a lot of different foods, some taste good others don't." she explained after swallowing her bite full.

"Do you have any other kinds?"

"Yes but their in my bag back in Po-Koro." she answered the Stone Toa's question. This earned a sheepish smile from the large Toa.

"Opps." he chuckled awkwardly. He really didn't give her time to grab her stuff before he dragged her out of the village in the morning. "I'll go back and get it. Be back in a flash." he offered before he disappeared with his blinding speed.

"Heh, sometime Pohatu acts before he thinks things through." Gali chuckled lightly after her brother was gone from sight.

"I can tell." Kassy said putting away the rest of her chocolate for later. "He's kind of like a big puppy." she chuckled with a smile mentally picturing the sideways stare he gave her when confused. Even though she didn't know what a puppy was, Gali could guess what Kassy meant.

"Yes, he is very trusting. Even when around those he doesn't know well." Even though the comment was friendly, there was a double meaning behind the Water Toa's words. To Kassy's ears it was like a comment someone conducting an interview would give. Gali's silence after only proved her hunch that she was waiting to gauge her response.

"That's not a bad thing. Some people just get a feeling, a 'six sense' about others that lets them know where that person stands." Kassy said nonchalantly, as if she didn't catch the hidden meaning in the Water Toa's words.

The Toa of Light just watched from the side looking back and forth between his sister Toa and Kassy. Even though he wasn't sure, he knew he was watching something that could be a calmer equivalent of Kopaka and Tahu's verbal sparing. Or at least it would end up like that if he didn't interrupt.

"What other kinds of food did you bring?" Takanuva spoke up, ending the intense conversation before it could even start; or Pohatu could get back.

"Just some snacks: gram crackers, marshmallows, chocolate, some popcorn, soda; stuff like that." she said turning her attention away from the female Toa to him. The look on Takanuva's face told Kassy that he had no idea what she was talking about. "I'll show you when Pohatu comes back." she said earning a nod from the Toa of Light.

"And here I am." Kassy turned to see Pohatu standing there, her bag in his hand. "I hope that's everything." he said as he handed it to her.

"It should be, I didn't take any other than my CD player out." she said as she rummaged through her bag, pulling out several things as she went. As she pulled out what she wanted, Onua and Lewa returned with some fruit.

"Found a couple of Muronga trees nearby to were ripe with fruit." Onua said as him and Lewa put down the red mango shaped fruit they had gathered.

"Looks like stone-sister has found a variety of food." Lewa said picking up a few soda cans the she had pulled out.

"I still wouldn't consider food; except for 'junk food'. May taste good, but don't want it to get the main staple of your diet." She said taking the can's from Lewa, before he could try and bite into them. Kassy didn't want to know if they could bite through metal, and if she did she didn't want her few cans of soda to be the test subjects to find out. "Can't eat soda but you can drink it." she said popping the lid open before passing it back to Lewa.

Diving back into her bag she shuffled around her camera and spare clothes before she found the popcorn that she had packed. Though the package read that it would need minutes to heat up over a campfire Kassy knew a way to heat it up faster.

"Hey Tahu, since you can control fire right? Heat this up for us." she said holding the oven top popcorn to Tahu. Not feeling a hand reach for it she looked over at the fire Toa who wasn't responding. "Tahu? Tahu?" Kassy tried to get the fire Toa's attention.

"It's best not to bother them, nothing will get his attention when he's like this." Onua said knowingly before watching Lewa's face as the Air Toa tried the soda. But regardless of the Earth Toa's advice she knew one way to get his attention that would work.

"Tahu!" she yelled smacking him on the back of his head with the container of popcorn. This caused Lewa to do a spit take as the soda he had been trying was spat out in surprise to her sudden action. Unused to such an action, tahu was jolted out of his glaring contest with Kopaka.

"What was that for?!" he growled dangerously glaring at Kassy. The other Toa looked slack jawed surprised that she would do something that would infuriate Tahu even more than usual. But unphased by the glare she shoved the popcorn underneath his nose.

"Here! Put all that hotheadedness of yours to work on something more constructive." she suggested, her bluntness even taking Tahu by surprise.

"What is it?" he asked still not happy, but curious as to what the strange container was.

"It's popcorn. Since your element is fire, it shouldn't be hard for you to heat it up." Tahu took the stove top popcorn container in his hand looking it over.

"You want me to set in on fire?" he asked not understanding what to do with the strange object.

"No, that'll burn the popcorn. Just heat it up a little, no flames." she explained. Tahu again glared at her but said nothing. Holding it in one of his hands he raised the temperature around the popcorn container and waited to see what was to happen. Of course Tahu was not very good with patience, after a couple moments he started to complain. But his complaining was stopped prematurely when the popcorn inside began to pop.

"What the?!" Tahu exclaimed nearly losing his grip on the container. The rest of the Toa jumped back startled by the strange popping that was coming from inside the container. Not surprised in the least Kassy scolded Tahu for nearly dropping the popcorn.

"Hold it still, otherwise it'll all go to waste." Tahu growled back at her scowled.

"You didn't tell me it was gonna start making noises and jumping around!"

"Quite complaining, it'll be finished soon." she said as the aluminum foil covering the popcorn began to rise. The Toa of Fire mumbled something about 'how she'd like to have fried hair' but kept the comment to himself as the popcorn soon began to stop it's popping. As the popping came to an end, Tahu stopped heating the popcorn container figuring that it didn't need it anymore. Once the container cooled down Kassy took it from Tahu and opened it up, before offering some to the curious Toa. "Try some, it's good." she said confidently.

"More strange food from your island?" Takanuva asked as they reached into the open foil to take a taste.

"It's popcorn." Kassy answered grabbing a handful herself.

"I guess its named after the sound it makes." Gali guessed.

"You could say that."

If Kassy though their reaction to popcorn was funny watching Kopaka fighting against a sticky marshmallow was hilarious. After the popcorn was gone she decided to introduce the Toa to s'mores. One sticky marshmallow seemed to have fallen in love with the Ice Toa's fingers. The more he tried to pull it off the large the sticky glob seemed to get, spreading from his fingers to his hands.

Tahu roared laughing at the sight at his bewildered and frustrated brother. A cold glare came from the Ice Toa with a stream of ice from his sticky fingers freezing Tahu's hot s'more. Though that fixed his problem of the sticky marshmallow, it only caused another with the Fire Toa promptly starting another squabble.

---------------------------------

Though it seemed forever night finally came, and it was time for each of the Toa to return to their respective villages. Saying their goodbyes Kassy and Pohatu began to walk back towards the Po-Wahi. Even though he didn't say anything Kassy could tell that he was watching her and she knew why.

"If we 'walk' it'll be morning before we reach Po-Koro." Pohatu finally said silently hinting to her. Kassy sighed heavily as she continued to walk trying not to give in.

"Can't you just walk anywhere?" she asked glancing at him.

"I walked with you back to Po-Koro last time, didn't I?" The Stone Toa reminded her, smiling as if he had just shown his trump card.

"Yes, yes you did." she admitted which caused Pohatu to grin widely. "Fine." Kassy sighed again in defeat stopping. "I'm surprised that you don't race through Po-Koro like you do everywhere else." she said as he scooped her up into his arms like he normally did. Or at least it seemed pretty normal by now.

"Use to. But Turaga Onewa got anger about me making sandstorms inside the village." Pohatu explained with a chuckle. Kassy joined in with a laugh of her own, before they sped back to Po-Koro.

To be continued . . .

People are still reading this story? Whoot! X3 Thanks Arya-Metru, Dark Predator Dragon, Ereana, Hellbomb, Onemythicalgirl, and Bioniclegeek.

It took me awhile to get this chapter done. Truthfully I had it 75% done last year but couldn't get the plot bunnies to give me the rest until now. But waiting did give me the idea of Kopaka and the marshmallow. XD I could just imagine him struggling against the gooeyness.

Though I'm not 100% sure where this story is going I have an idea for the next chapter. It involves several of the Po-Matoran getting a hold of her camera. XD It should be hilarious.

Again thanks, and keep reviewing. ^-^


	6. Chapter 6

Romancing the Stone . . . Toa

By Fatala

I can't believe I finished this chapter in just one day. Though on such a boring rainy day it was the perfect time to sit home and type. Even more amazing is that this is the second chapter I've done in two days straight. Maybe I can finish a chapter for Raising Holi tomorrow and make it three. Aa, we'll see. I'm gonna sleep now. -passes out-

Chapter 6: Picture Perfect

'Where is it?' Kassy mentally asked herself as she rummaged through her bag. Various items were either set aside or tossed out of the way, depending on whether they would break or not. Finally she came across what she was searching for.

"Yes!" was her verbal rejoice as she brought out the coveted possession she never thought she'd be so happy to see in her life. A bottle of sunscreen never looked so good. As she opened it and began to pour the white goop on to her skin she was thankful to have brought a new bottle instead of the old kiddy lotion she normally used. Kassy could never imagine the sun being as fierce as it was in the Po-Koro desert, it was just brutal especially on her unprotected skin.

She had learned that fact the hard way a couple days ago. It had been years since she had such a bad sunburn, luckily she packed some aloe vera otherwise her skin would still be peeling and hot to the touch. But how long would the sunscreen and aloe last her? Heck, she had only packed for a couple days of camping not a week long stay in an unknown world. She couldn't keep wearing the same clothes days on end and she doubted any one here knew how to make new ones.

The biggest problem was how to get home. Turaga Nokama from Ga-Koro was suppose to be coming to try and help with that situation, but Kassy was having her doubts. How were they gonna find a way for her to get home when they didn't know where it was or how she got here. She didn't even know how she got here.

Her hands slowed from rubbing the lotion in as she thought about home. Did anyone know she was missing? Was anyone looking for her or was everyone oblivious to her disappearance? Shaking her head she dispelled the thoughts she didn't want answered.

Once she had fully covered her body with the sunscreen she began to pack everything that she had taken out back in. As she went she stopped at finding her camera. Kassy had forgotten that she had packed it. Flipping it over she pressed the button to see if it still worked. Yep, a blue light came instantly to life as the lens spun out and the screen flickered on. It seemed the batteries still had some life in them.

'Ah why not. Minds well get some pictures.' she thought shoving the camera into her pocket. She doubted anyone would believe her if she told them about Po-Koro or the rest of the island. At least a few pictures would prove she wasn't entirely crazy. With her backpack slung over her shoulder she walked out of her hut, shielding her eyes slightly as the bright sunlight scorched down to the desert floor.

Of course the Po-Matoran showed no sign of being effected by the heat or glare of the sun, but then again they seemed to be built like the rocks around them. Everything seemed to be the same as it had been the days before; minus the curious stares she got, they had gotten use to seeing her everyday and she wasn't seen as a stranger. Most of the Po-Matoran were heading out to the kohli fields for practice.

Instead of following the stream of Matoran she pulled out her camera to get some pictures. She got a few of the huts and village walls that were still being reconstructed. Whipping the sweat off her brow she turned off the camera before heading towards the kohli fields.

As she walked sounds of fighting could be heard. Yet this didn't alarm her; coming closer to the sounds she saw Toa Pohatu and Toa Takanuva sparing in an open field. The youngest Toa seemed to be under the tutorage of the older, more experienced Toa. Right now the Toa of light was doing a good job of keeping up with the quicker stone Toa but Pohatu had some tricks which kept him on his toes.

Smiling to herself Kassy moved to an empty bleacher as the two Toa continued their sparing match. Now this was something to get a picture of. Pulling out her camera once more she changed its settings for the harsh sunlight before zooming in on the Toa. Waiting for the right moment she snapped several shots.

"Gotcha." she said happily before scrolling back to view the pictures. Her smile faded into a questionable frown. "I thought the flash was off." she said to herself as she checked the settings again. The flash was indeed off. But in each of the pictures there was a bight flash of light that blocked both Toa from being captured on camera. 'Hmm.'

Kassy had an idea why the pictures weren't coming out. Testing her theory she waited 'til Pohatu and Takanuva had some distance between each other. One, two. She took a picture of each Toa separately. Looking back at the pictures Kassy found she was right. The picture of Pohatu turned out perfectly, but Takanuva's was blurred by the same light as before.

"I guess Takanuva's a little too photogenic for my camera." she chuckled to herself was the sparing match drew to a close.

"Good work brother." came Pohatu's jovial voice as he walked over to his brother Toa. "Your getting better every time."

"Well, I'm slowly learning. Toa Tahu is never happy with my practices." Takanuva honestly replied earning a brotherly slap on the back from the taller Toa.

"It's only because he wants you to keep getting better and never give up on getting better." the stone Tao explained. He knew how his fire brother could be, him and Kopaka had so much in common; but he'd never tell his ice and fire brothers. Pohatu then noticed Kassy watching them from the stands.

"Kassy, it looks like your doing better." Takanuva said as they came over to her. The light Toa had been the first noticed Kassy's red skin when the sunburn first appeared.

"Yeah, last time I come out into the sun without sunscreen." she said with a groan remembering how painful and itchy the burn was.

"If you got any redder you would have looked like Tahu." A bland look came on Kassy's face at the comment from Pohatu. Takanuva easily understood the irritation in Kassy's look, went the still carefree smile of Pohatu's face told that he was oblivious.

"Great. Just what I would need." was the bland reply that equally matched the look on her face. Even after meeting the fire Toa once, Kassy did not like the arrogant Toa. Putting aside Pohatu's comment she turned her attention back to Takanuva. "How long are you gonna stay in Po-Koro?"

"Until Gali and Turaga Nokama come, then I'll head with them to Ga-Koro." Takanuva answered as Pohatu looked as oblivious as before about why she seemed miffed. But his attention changed to what she had in her hand.

"What's that you have there?" he asked pointing at her camera. The stone Toa had seen some strange things since Kassy had come and the object she had looked just as strange. He started to reach out for it but Kassy drew it away.

"It's my camera and I'm not gonna let you get heavy handed with it; like you did with my cell phone." Pohatu looked like a pouting puppy for a minute before retorting.

"I didn't think it was that fragile." While Kassy had been looking for something Pohatu had spotted her phone that she put down for a minute. Not knowing what it was he started looking it over, tossing it between his hands before trying to see if it opened like her CD player. Kassy noticed a little too late as he pulled the cell phone apart.

"Regardless, I'm keeping this safe." she said putting it safely back into her pocket as she stood up. As she climbed down the bleachers she noticed the Matoran that had been repairing the walls heading towards the kohli fields. "Is a game going on or something?" Kassy asked finally noticing the cheering from one of the larger game fields.

"It's only practice right now, but there should be a game starting soon." Pohatu answered with a big grin on his face. Like a child being let loose in a candy store the stone Toa started ahead running towards the field. He only stopped once to yell back for them to come before disappearing.

"Boy I'd hate to introduce him to football." she said shaking her head with a sigh.

"Foot-ball?" asked Takanuva with a thoroughly confused look on his face.

"It's a sport where I come from. Though I don't care for it, many people are almost religiously addicted to it." Kassy explained as they began to slowly follow after Pohatu.

"Ah, now I understand." He didn't need to know the details of the game to know why Kassy associated it with kohli and Pohatu. "He is the patron of the game so of course he loves it. Even I've played my fair share." Takanuva added remembering back to when he was still Takua.

"Still when he's like this it reminds me of my cousin who is a rabid football fan." she commented one last time as the made it to the field. The game was just starting, as three teams took the field. In one of the teams she could see Hewkii and Hafu who looked ready to play.

"It's about time you two came. You nearly missed the start." said Pohatu before promptly dragging them over to a bench in the front row. All three Po-Koro teams started off pretty evenly but it didn't take long for Hewkii's team to start pushing ahead. Once more seeing an opportunity Kassy started getting some snapshots of the match. Still curious about the item she had Pohatu once more watched her actions with interest. Noticing that she was the center of his attention and not the match Kassy gave in.

"Fine I'll show you what its for. But look, don't touch." A happy nod from Pohatu and she began explaining. "See it takes pictures of people, things, and events so they can be viewed later." she explained as the stone Toa watched entranced at the different pictures of the match that had already passed being displayed on the small screen.

At one picture he grabbed Kassy's hand so she couldn't flip it to another 'frozen moment'. Confused at the Toa's gently but firm grip she looked up at him but his attention was on the small screen. Looking down she saw which picture she had flipped to, it was the close up she had gotten of Pohatu while he had been sparing with Takanuva.

"Is that me?" he asked still amazed by the camera's function.

"Yeah. I took it while you two were sparing." Haven' got a closer look at the picture his grip slackened even as he continued to look at it in awe. With a small chuckle she turned off the picture viewing part of the camera so that the game could been seen playing on the screen. Not understanding why the screen was suddenly not showing the picture anymore he continued to watch the camera, but his attention turned to Kassy as she slid closer putting an arm behind his back.

"Look at the camera and smile." she said with a smile on her face as she held the camera out in front of them. Not questioning he did as she said, looking at the camera with a smile. There was a small sound and then the shutter clicked. Kassy pulled back the camera and brought her arm back around. Pohatu watched as she pushed a button and a picture of them together appeared. "See." she said before looking him.

Pohatu nodded still smiling. Kassy nearly jumped as Pohatu wrapped an arm over her shoulder. "Take another." he said smiling down at her. With a chuckle she did as he said taking other picture.

---

Pohatu wasn't the only one amazed and curious about her camera. After the game she decided to get a picture of the teams. Hewkii and the others gathered around her now watching as she showed them what it did and how it did it.

"Today was a good game." Turaga Onewa chuckled as he watched with Pohatu and Takanuva.

"One of the best." Pohatu laughed agreeing with the Turaga. Onewa looked at the stone Toa who just couldn't stop wearing a goofy smile on his face as he watched Kassy. He had seen the stone Toa acting like a delighted child during the game, and for once it wasn't because of Kohli.

"It'll be awhile 'til Turaga Nokama comes, why don't you take Kassy out of the village for a bit?" Turaga Onewa suggested. Pohatu nearly missed what his elder said but when he did he looked down nodding happily.

"Brother. Want to come along?" he asked looking at Takanuva.

"I should remain here for when Toa Gali and Turaga Nokama come." he politely declined. With that Pohatu jogged over to the group of Po-Matoran that were around Kassy.

"Kassy!" he called coming over. She looked up at the stone Toa as he slowed to a stop. "Want to head out of the village for awhile?" Turning off her camera to the dismay of the surrounding Matoran she dug into her bag.

"That's a good idea. I needed to head to the oasis anyways." At the mention of the small water hole the Po-Matoran instantly shuddered with Pohatu. Despite the small dip the stone Toa wasn't a fan of water. "I just need to clean my clothes, they're covered with dust." she said pulling out a smaller bag that she had put her dirty clothes in. Dropping her camera in she closed the larger bag and turned to Hewkii. "Could you put this in my hut?" At the question Hewkii nodded his head with a giddy grin. Kassy got up with her 'laundry' bag and made her way out of the group of Matoran.

"Just be careful with it." she called back as her and Pohatu began to walk away.

"We will!" was the collective call back as they left.

---

Pohatu watched from a safe distance was Kassy washed her clothes. She was in her bathing suit waist deep in the water scrubbing out the ground in dirt the best she could.

"Does everyone in your world have to change their armor so regularly?" he asked looking at the three shirts that were now hanging on the surrounding palm branches dripping dry in the sun.

"Yes. Usually more, but I only had these on me when I left my house." she answered letting her jeans float as she went to work on her shorts. The look on Pohatu's face clearly told that he just didn't understand it. He didn't have to worry about the dust and dirt getting on his armor; either it fell off or he could just easily dust it off. Thankfully he didn't have to get wet to clean it.

"There, just have to let them dry a bit." she said getting out of the water. Looking up at the bright sky she shield her eyes from the glare. "It shouldn't take too long in this sunlight. Now I wish I brought my sunglasses." she said hanging her jeans on a sturdy palm branch while her shorts were propped on to a dry shoot coming from a bush.

"Sun-what?" Pohatu asked as he poked at one of the clothes hung near where he sat. It was long and white with hops on either side of it and two larger pieces of 'armor' that was close to the middle but divided. He never saw that piece of armor on her, and Kassy refused to elaborate where that piece of armor went.

"Never mind." she said before turning to see the Toa poking at her bra. Quickly she swiped it out of his hand and put it safely out of his reach were she had hung her underwear after Pohatu had tried to figure out what they were. The stone Toa was innocent and didn't need an explanation of what they were, where they went and why.

"Why are you so defensive about them?" Pohatu asked pointing towards the pieces of clothing she had moved away.

"B-because they're not something men should see." she said defensively as she spun around with a light blush on her face. If he was a 'normal' man she would have promptly kicked his butt to the moon and back. But she couldn't do that with him, Pohatu was ignorant to such things.

"I don't see what's so special about them. They're even flimsier than your other armor." he said back.

"They may be 'flimsy but they do their job." she huffed walking back over to him. Opening her bag she pulled out the two other things she threw in with her clothes; her beach towel and sunscreen. She started to dry herself off; as she did so Pohatu watched noticing how even her hair kept water just like her cloths, but her skin seemed to act more like armor than her cloths at least in the way it dried fast. The next thing he knew Kassy was holding out something to him.

"Could you help me put on the sunscreen?" He looked at the bottle before taking it in one hand.

"This stuff?"

"Yeah, here let me open it." Taking off the cover a strange smell came out of the bottle. He snorted reflexively at the strange smell.

"Your gonna put this stuff on your skin?" he asked as she began to pour some on her hands.

"Yep. It helps protect my skin from the sun's rays." she explained as she started rubbing it in on her arms and neck. "I need you to put some on my back and rub it in." she said turning around and kneeling down in front of where he sat. Unsure of what to do he did what Kassy had done, pouring some of the liquid in his hand he put down the bottle. Looking at his now goop covered hand he put it on her lower back between the top and bottom part of her bathing suit.

"Like this?" he asked using both hands to spread the sunscreen and to rub it in.

"Yes. Just don't get it on the bathing suit." she said moving her hair out of his way so he could reach the top of her back and the rest of her neck. "Also make sure its rubbed in good enough so that none can be seen." she said as she patiently waited.

Pohatu found this quite strange but did as she said. Once he had rubbed in that amount he poured some more to get the top. His hands rubbed longer even after the lotion had disappeared into the skin. The stone Toa found it strange the way her skin felt underneath his fingers. It wasn't the normal feeling of metal to metal like when armor make contact with armor. Her skin was soft and smooth especially with the lotion on.

"Are you done?" Kassy asked after a long moment. Even though the light rubbing on her back did feel good it seemed a bit long for just putting on sunscreen.

"Y-yes." he said taking his hands off her shoulders. "Here you go." he said handing the rest of the sunscreen to her.

"Thanks." she said getting up. Dusting off the sand from her legs, she poured more sunscreen to use on her legs. Once finished she capped the bottle and put it back into her bag.

"Turaga Nokama should be at the village soon. Are they dry yet?" he asked feeling one of her hung shirt. This one at least felt dry.

"Maybe. Let me check." She said taking off a different shirt. "Yep, its dry." Kassy said before grabbing up her shirts folding all except one.

"I'll let you change your armor. Just call me once your done." Pohatu had guessed correctly that it was wise to go while she changed. Once the stone Toa was out of sight she took down her undergarments before moving to grab her jeans and shorts. Setting her stuff aside after putting her jeans away she turned to get her shorts. But when she reached out to grabbed them, they moved away out of her reach.

"Uh?" What was going on? Once more she tried to grab them, but they moved away again. Not to be out smarted by a pair of shorts she moved to a different angle. Then she made a jumping leap at them. She was not met by shorts and ferns but by ferns and the ground. Irritated she growled but stopped a hearing an almost giggling snort. Getting up she looked to see a few paces away a creature about two feet shorter than her. It was shaped like a four legged kangaroo but was biomechanical with a large horn on its nose. And on the horn was her shorts.

"Ok. Be a good, umm, kangaroo and hand over the shorts." she said getting up. But the 'kangaroo' looked like it had no intention of giving them back, instead it swished its tail in a playful mood. 'Great.' Kassy thought sarcastically.

"So you want to play right?" At her question the 'kangaroo' seemed to nod as it hopped up and down. "Ok. Lets play tag. If I catch you I get the shorts on your horn back. Ready? Go!" she yelled once more leaping at the creature, but it easily hopped out of her reach. Not willing to give up Kassy immediately picked herself off the ground and raced after the 'kangaroo'.

---

The 'kangaroo' had led her on a merry chase which led right back to the oasis. Kassy panted as once more it hopped out of her reach. But instead of getting up she laid their in the sand exhausted. Noticing that it was no longer being chased the creature turned around. Curiously it came back over to her nudging her slightly with the tip of its snout. At first there was no movement but suddenly Kassy shot up.

"Got ya!" she yelled springing onto the 'kangaroo'. It was unprepared and was finally caught. "Ok. I got you. Now I'll take my shorts back." she said panting grabbing one end of her shorts. But the critter wasn't ready to give up the game as it tugged lightly on the other end making it a tug-of-war match.

"Awww come on. I'm too tired for this." Kassy whined being honestly tired.

Suddenly there was a low bellow. The 'kangaroo' suddenly dropped its head so that the shorts slipped off its horn. Having been distracted by the sound Kassy was unprepared and fell on to her back with her shorts in hand. She laid there panting for a minute with her eyes closed. But her rest came to quick end as a snort was heard behind her followed by a large shadow coming over her. Opening her eyes she found herself staring up at another 'kangaroo' except this one was three time larger than the smaller one.

"Aaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhh!" Pohatu shot around the oasis nearly running into Kassy who quickly ran behind him to hide. He was ready to face anything like a Nui-Jaga or a Muaka, but instead he just put his weapons away and chuckled.

"Don't worry Kassy, its just a Kikanalo." he said to the frightened girl behind him.

"Kikanalo? It looks like a kangaroo from hell to me!" Kassy yelled still startled out of her mind.

"They're harmless creatures, as long as you don't antagonize them." came a voice from behind them. Coming up behind them was Turaga Nokama with Toa Gali. As they came over Turaga Nokama walked right past them and went up to the larger Kikanalo. The larger Kikanalo looked just like the 'baby' except it had a orange horn instead of grey. From the distance between them Kassy couldn't hear what Nokama was saying but it was obvious that the Kikanalo was actually a gentle giant.

"Turaga Nokama has come across them before, so she knows their harmless." Gali explained as Nokama came over with the Kikanalo following. Even though it was obvious they were harmless Kassy was still shaken up from the sudden scare. But undeterred by that the 'baby' Kikanalo trotted right up to her. Unsure of what to do she patted it on the head.

"I guess you were just playing." she gave a small smile. With a happy sound the 'baby' Kikanalo licked her. "Stop, stop!" Kassy laughed at the baby's form of affection.

"Kikanalo's are good judges of character. They only attack something if they are threatened." Nokama explained as the baby stopped its licking and went back over to the larger Kikanalo.

---

Back in Po-Koro the sun was just starting to set as Pohatu followed Kassy towards her hut. After the Kikanalo interruption she had decided just to pack her clothes up and get dressed back in Po-Koro so she was still in her bathing suit as they walked.

"Long day." Kassy said with a long sigh. The Toa of stone just chuckled at her statement.

"But is sure was funny." he smiled putting his arms behind his head as they walked. "Hehe, especially when you got scared by that Kikanalo." he laughed earning a low grumble from Kassy.

"Its was not funny. I thought I was gonna be eaten!" she retorted at the stone Toa's laughter. But that only make Pohatu laugh even harder. "Its not funny-" she started to reiterate when she suddenly tripped.

The large Toa's laugher was cut short as he scooped Kassy back to her feet before she could join her bag on the ground. It took her a minute to notice how close she was to him. Pohatu was holding her close to his body, his arms wrapped around her back.

"Gotta be more careful." he said looking down at her with a look of gentle concern look on his face.

"I'll have to remember that." she said blushing slightly as she looked up into his warm amber eyes. Pohatu smiled at having Kassy caught off guard. Normally she would recover in a heart beat and pull away but it was nice not to have her pull away from him. To an onlooker the scene of them in front of the sun setting against the orange desert probably looked like something out of a romance movie. But the moment was ended with a simple - Flash! Kassy and Pohatu covered their eyes just after the flash retreated.

"That was a great one Hafu." laughed Hewkii.

"Uh-oh, we've been spotted!" said another Po-Matoran as Kassy was out of Pohatu's arms and after the Matoran who had her camera; and the perfect blackmailing picture on it.

"Get back here with my camera!" she yelled chasing after the retreating Po-Matoran as Pohatu just laughed. He'd have to see how the picture came out later.

To be continued . . .

Heh. I had to made a nod to the Kikanalo from Metru Nui, because I love them. X3 I hope everyone like this chapter, it came out much longer than I thought it would. Now for the reviews.

Yah! I'm glad people are still reading this story Deadly fangs.

I'm happy you liked the last chapter Flames Chaos and Wolf, Ereana, and Shadow.

Glad to see you came back to check out the story Athena's Assassin.

Its good to see that the campfire and marshmallow scenes were a hit Player 3 and Tiger Toa.

Thought it is an idea Wolf Girl811, I'm not planning on having any other humans added into the story. I'm mainly focusing on Kassy, but soon I'll have to get a plot going. But first I have to come up with one. :P


	7. Chapter 7

Romancing the Stone . . . Toa

By Fatala

Ok, explanation time. Since the last time I put a chapter things have happened, but good and bad. I now have three jobs; since not enough to get my own place but its between than nothing. The year ended badly when my grandma died in December; it was not a happy Christmas for our family. We're mostly over our grief but it's still harm sometimes, especially for my mom. But slowly my ambition is getting back to normal. I have a pretty hectic schedule 'til the end of April: have to finish my cosplay by April 10th; also working on plushies, posters, bookmarks, and stickers to sell at Noobiecon this year; after Noobiecon on 10-11th me and one of my friends will be quite busy getting ready for TORAcon from 23-26th. So much to get done in so little time, so updates will be sporadic, again. ; Unless my muse decides to bite me with a idea I can't resist.

FYI: I know stone 'users' in the Matoran universe cannot control sand but I'm making it so Pohatu can. It just makes sense since sand is small particles of stone. Just mentioning it now so no one can yelled at me and say 'Hey! He can't do that!'. Oh, well now he can. :P So just except it.

Chapter 7: Shifting Sands

"Oh come on. They were just having a little fun." Pohatu said as he followed Kassy. It was obvious she didn't think the Matoran's playfulness was very funny. After running them down she caught them reclaiming her camera which was now dangling by its strap from her wrist. Now he was following her as she briskly made her way to her hut. His warm amber eyes watch the device swing back and forth barely hearing Kassy's grumbling remark.

The brown Toa wanted to see the picture that had been taken of them but Kassy adamantly refused to let him take a look, let alone touch the camera. He didn't understand why, she hadn't even taken a look at it yet. One little peak wouldn't hurt, his mind kept telling him. Reaching out he tried to grasp a hold of it.

He suddenly stopped as Kassy spun around. The look on Pohatu's face looked equivalent to a child caught with their hand in a cookie jar. He chuckled sheepishly even as she almost glared at him.

"Good night, Pohatu." was all she said before walking into her hut. Though he didn't understand why she was acting in such a way he decided it was probably best not to ask. He'd sneak a peak at it tomorrow.

Inside Kassy dropped her bag on the floor before flopping on to the bed. She laid there for a few minutes just staring at the ceiling. 'Oh, what a day.' she thought as she laid there. Lifting up her camera she turned it on to take a look at the picture Hafu had taken of her and Pohatu. Her finger hovered over the delete button ready to get rid of the picture as she looked at it. Viewing the picture her finger slowly left the button as she reconsidered her decision to erase it.

Even though she felt embarrassed just looking at it, it was a good picture catching both of them off guard. Thankfully she had retrieved the camera before they could show it to anyone. 'Well no one was gonna see it now.' she thought as she turned the camera off. Flipping opened the bottom she pulled out the memory card and slipped it into one of her bags many pockets. Securely closing the pocket she closed the camera satisfied that even if Pohatu or the Matoran got a hold of the camera they wouldn't be able to view the picture.

Content with that Kassy was ready to put the rest of the embarrassing day from her mind and get ready for bed. But before she could even pull out her pajamas there was a short rapping outside the entrance of the hut.

It obvious wouldn't have been Pohatu, the stone Toa had a habit of entering without knocking. Going over to the opening she was greeted with both Turaga Onewa and Nokama.

"Good evening Kassy." Nokama greeted her.

"Evening." Kassy knew why they were there. Turaga Nokama had come from Ga-Koro to try to find how or why Kassy had come to Mata Nui and hopeful also to find a way for her to get home. But Kassy was slightly skeptical and wasn't sure how the water Turaga could help her find a way home she didn't know. Yet any help was more than welcome.

"Tomorrow we'd like if you and Pohatu to show us the area you were found. From there we might be able to learn how you got here." Turaga Onewa said.

"Ok, but I'm not sure there is anything to find there." she said still a little skeptic on what they could find in the desert. All she remembered when awakening was sand, desert and Pohatu. Though that in itself had been odd then it wasn't now.

"Perhaps not, but maybe we can find some evidence to help you return to your world. Even if we don't find anything there still might be some clue to help us." Nokama said before her and Onewa left Kassy for the night.

---

It was early morning when Pohatu came to get Kassy. The sun hadn't even come up yet leaving the desert surprisingly cool, but she knew better than to trust the deceptive temperature. She made sure not to forget to put on the sunscreen before following him out. Turaga Onewa and Nokama were already at the village's gates waiting for them.

"Shall we go?" Nokama asked as they approached. Kassy gave a nod. "Then we shall let you and Pohatu to take the lead." Though she took the lead with Pohatu, it was mainly him who led since he was the one who had carried her to Po-Koro. As they walked the stone Toa stole a glance at her.

"Did you bring your camera?" Kassy groaned at hearing Pohatu's question; she knew it would be coming.

"No, I didn't."

"I guess I'll have to wait 'til we get back to see it." he said with a chuckle as she rolled her eyes and muttered 'you wish'. From behind them Nokama watched as Kassy and Pohatu continued. She didn't need to hear the 'conversation' to know that what Pohatu was talking about made Kassy embarrassed and flustered. But regardless of that the large Toa seemed to be having fun getting a rise out of her.

Obviously his remarks weren't hurtful but only served to make her blush as she'd make a comeback. What the water Turaga also found amusing was the way Turaga Onewa just shook his head obviously expressing that this had happened before. It was an interesting exchange between the two but any more exchanges between the two were stopped as they reached the spot that Pohatu had found Kassy.

Looking around Kassy really didn't remember the place, then again she wasn't surprised because she had been kind of out of it at the time. _'Freaked out was more like it to me.' _Pohatu had said before; unfortunately she couldn't deny that. At least now the stone Toa wasn't making any wise cracks; of course that could only because of the two Turagas being around.

Onewa ran his stone hammer staff over the ground stirring up some of the dust as he did so. A couple times he did the same as if searching to see if there was anything underneath the sand. Kassy watched curious, watching the ground but nothing seemed to be there.

"If there is anything here it must be deep underground, nothing one the surface except sand and more sand." he said after a few minutes. Pohatu looked on before turning to Nokama.

"Turaga Nokama, do you have any ideas?" he asked. Nokama had been watching her brother Turaga as he had shifted the sands.

"Perhaps. Kassy, was there anything unusual that you remember seeing, feeling? Either when you awakened here or before you found yourself here?" she asked in her wise voice.

"Not really, it was just a boring day; until I woke up face to face with a stone golem." she said glancing at Pohatu, who gave her a fake hurt pout before cracking back to his normal smile. Kassy turned her look away to ignore him when she remembered something. "Wait, there was one thing." She was ready to instinctively reach for her backpack but her hand only found air; she had forgotten to grab it before leaving.

"So there was something?" Nokama asked glad to hear that there was something that could answer for the reason she was there.

"There was a strange stone." Kassy had nearly forgotten about the stone. She knew she still had it in her bag but it had been out of sight out of mind. "I'm not sure if it could be important but I did find it right before I ended up here."

---

Potahu's attention suddenly shifted. No longer did the words of Turaga Nokama or Kassy reach his ears. His full attention had turned to the desert, a serious frown formed on his face. The more he concentrated on his powers the less he liked what he learned. Amber orbs focused on one spot in the landscape that seemed to blur and bend; this distorted horizon was not caused by the heat of the sun but something all desert dwellers dreaded.

The stone Toa's distant stare was soon noticed by Onewa, the old Turaga knew something was wrong.

"What do you sense?" he asked knowing whatever had the Toa's attention was important.

"Get Turaga Nokama and Kassy back to Po-Koro now." Pohatu's voice was low, nearly a whisper but the urgency in it was a clear as day. The stone Turaga did not question or ask for an explanation as he quickly suggested that they head back to Po-Koro. At this time Kassy finally noticed the expression Pohatu wore. It was a look that she hadn't seen before on the normally playful Toa's face, yet it seemed almost as natural as the smile it had replaced.

"Pohatu?" she asked coming up to him.

"Go, now." was the quiet yet stern command. He didn't even turn back to look at her, his eyes tightened into a silently glare at the still warping landscape that seemed so far away.

Kassy was about to touch his arm to attempt to get an explanation but Turaga Nokama stopped her. Looking back at the water Turaga, the wise Nokama simple shook her head before pulling Kassy in the direction her and Turaga Onewa were already headed.

Even as they moved towards Po-Koro and safety the look on Pohatu's face didn't soften nor did he raise his weapons against the on coming threat that was swiftly moving towards him. Now he could see the sand shifting and churning in a breeze that had not been there a minute ago. The breeze around him began to pick up as the sand fiercely began to dance around him.

The strange display was not generated by his powers but by the angry gale of wind that was driving the sandstorm straight towards him. Before he'd let the sandstorms blow pass, unless it was threatening Po-Koro itself. Something about this storm just didn't seem right to him, in the back of his mind he had sensed the storm as it rolled across the open Po-Wahi without a care. But the storm hadn't followed its natural course; something in the wind shifted it, not once but twice. The second shift had sealed his concern about the storm at that moment he knew something besides the winds were driving it.

Whooshing winds spun the sand faster as it approached the area the Turagas and Kassy had been just moments ago. Now the only thing that was there to greet the storm was Toa Pohatu. His tan and brown hands came up even as the sandstorm's winds howled deafen around him. Extending his powers he halted the mass of sand that the storm was carrying. The winds howled in a rage around him as he extended his power to halt the entire front face of the storm.

He may have stopped the storm from progressing but it didn't stop the wind which was fighting back as it tried to break his control. Pohatu's feet slid back several feet as a frown of determination spread across his face as he just increased his control over the sands. Some grains of sand did spill through the gapes but it was only a nuisance to the stone Toa as he continued to hold his ground.

---

Even as they quickened their pace back to Po-Koro, Kassy couldn't help and look back. Her eyes swept across the land behind her searching for a sign of the stone Toa. But all she could see was the flying sands that blocked any trace of Pohatu. Without willing her feet, she stopped still staring back at the seemingly halted sandstorm. Her mind whirled shifting back and forth. She hadn't wanted to leave the stone Toa alone, but both he and Turaga Nokama had urged her to leave him. Looking back over her shoulder, Kassy saw the two Turaga's still progressing to Po-Koro which could be seen only a couple miles away.

Yet her mind ruled against reason. When Turaga Nokama looked back Kassy wasn't running after them but away, back into the storm that had seemingly swallowed the stone Toa.

'Maybe this wasn't such a good idea.' Kassy thought now regretting her decision to go back. Her eyes were tightened into just barely a squint and one of her arms covered her mouth as the sand whipped around trying to find any way to get past her defenses. Unable to stand the sand that stung at her eyes, she closed them to save them from the pain. But that only made things worse, without her sight she wasn't sure which direction she was going in. Was she still progressing towards Pohatu or was she just wandering deeper into the storm?

"Pohatu!?" she called coughing harshly at the sand that was finding its way down her throat. Kassy knew that calling blindly would probably make things worse; she didn't see much of a choice. Turning back was no longer an option; she didn't even knew which way was the way she had came. She needed to find the Toa of stone. "Pohatu?!" she called again hoping that he could hear her over the roaring sands.

---

More and more sand had slipped past him as he continued to battle the storm. The wind was unrelenting; it just refused to let up and was now fueling a miniature sand storm around him. It would be hard to keep this up, but as long as he kept his mind concentrated he knew he could hold the massive wall of sand back.

"Pohatu?!" the frown of determination was quickly replaced by a look of confusion. Even though he felt his concentration slipping he looked in the direction he thought he heard the voice. He was hoping that the wind was just playing tricks on him, but at seeing Kassy stumbling blindly forward he knew it was no illusion.

"Kassy? Get out of here now!" he yelled as more of his concentration slipped away. The wall of sand he had been holding back was starting to advance.

"Pohatu?" Kassy couldn't make out what he was saying but she knew it was the Toa's voice. Now that she was getting closer Pohatu could see that she wasn't gonna be able to make it out of this storm herself. With her eyes shut against the wind and sand and her hearing nearly deafened by the storm she would just keep wandering until the wind and sand over whelmed her.

Suddenly his mind turned back to the column of sand he was holding back as more and more sand rushed past. His concentration was too far gone to hold back the wall of sand any longer. Abandoning his futile attempt he let down his wall as he activated his mask racing towards Kassy.

Now it was a race; Pohatu versus the sandstorm. Sweeping up Kassy into his arms he raced towards one of the sides of the storm. But the sandstorm wouldn't be out done. At lightning speed the wall that Pohatu had created collapsed, all the sand that had been held back turned into a flood as it seemed to follow the speeding Toa. The wind that drove the storm bashed against his armor trying to throw him off his feet. But he wouldn't let that happen so easily. The stone Toa never slowed down as he frantically prayed to Mata Nui to let them find a way out. His prayer seemed to be answered as he could just make out light from beyond the storm.

'Just a little more!' he thought at seeing the edge of the storm. Then like a Muaka pouncing on its prey the sandstorm came down in its full fury. Pohatu and Kassy were forcibly knocked to the ground as the sand and wind brutally assaulted them.

At the suddenly out lash Kassy couldn't help but scream. The wind did not miss the opportunity to pour sand down her throat as she gasped for air. Pohatu immediately covered Kassy extending his powers over the element to create a small shield of stone over them to keep the sand at bay. His body pressed down on hers to keep her from moving around too much. But Kassy's body thrashed as she tried to cough up the sand that had made it to her lungs. Seeing her starting to panic Pohatu did the only thing he knew he could do.

Without hesitation his lips suddenly came down pressing against Kassy's. Her eyes shot open at the suddenly contact. She could feel Pohatu inhaling drawing the sand from her lungs into himself. As her lungs burned for air he stopped letting her breath in a few breaths before his lips came back down as he drew away more of the sand from her. Like someone drawing poison from a snake bite he drew the sand out of her even as the sandstorm raged above them unable to touch the pair.

As if seeing that it could do no harm the storm slowly died down. Once the wind and sand calmed Pohatu let down the stone shield and got up slowly pulling Kassy to her feet. Kassy stood there for a moment in shock, whether it was from the storm or the deep kisses that Pohatu had used to save her she didn't know. Her mind didn't get time to contemplate it as the stone Toa swayed on his feet. Though she rushed to help him he was able to steady himself.

Pohatu was drained; he had expended most of his energy trying to hold back the storm. That combined with using his mask power and drawing the sand from Kassy left him feeling weak. It had been a long time since he had pushed himself so hard. Steadying himself he began to walk. Kassy watched for a minute before following close just incase he needed a shoulder to lean on. Pohatu said nothing, nor did he look at her as they slowly walked back to Po-Koro. She didn't dare break the silence as they went. How she wanted to say thank you, but at the same time she felt ashamed for causing him even more trouble.

It was her fault that he was so weak, if she had just listened to him and Turaga Nokama he probably would have come back to Po-Koro as happy and carefree as ever. The silence stretched on even after they make it back to Po-Koro. Both Turaga Onewa and Turaga Nokama were waiting as they came through the gate. Pohatu just continued past the worried Turaga as he went straight towards his hut. Kassy wanted to follow but she was stopped by Turaga Nokama.

"What were you thinking?" the Turaga of water asked. "Such a thoughtless action could have lead to disastrous consequences." Though her voice was as gentle as always Kassy could easily hear the reprimanding tone.

"I-I don't know." she answered the Turaga's question. Kassy couldn't look the Turaga in the eyes. She was feeling bad enough for being so stupid and putting not only herself but Pohatu in danger.

Nokama was ready to say something else when Onewa laid a hand on her should. She looked over to her brother whom merely shook his head at her, his 'referee' side was defiantly showing.

"None of us are in any shape to discuss more, 'til we clear are heads. Go, get some rest. We shall speak more tomorrow." the stone Turaga spoke his voice still very calm and composed despite what had happened. With a subdued nod she walked to her hut, though she didn't stay there for long.

---

Kassy wasn't sure if she should be there. Silently she looked into Pohatu's hut. The stone Toa was laying down on the cot, his eyes closed. While walking back Pohatu had tried not to show his weakness, but now it was more than obvious as she watched him lay there. She was ready to leave when his voice stopped her.

"Why didn't you go back to Po-Koro? Why did you come back?" she turned back to look at him. He still wasn't looking at her as he continued to lay there.

"I was worried about you." she started stilling not fully coming in. "I couldn't see you through the storm and I got scared." At this Pohatu did open his eyes and sat up. His warm amber eyes watched her, but still no smile came to his face.

"You should have listened." He was sounding like Turaga Onewa but Pohatu knew that he had to say it. "I may have been able to hold the storm back, but when you came back I lost my concentration. What would have happened to you if I had already been swept up by the storm?" Pohatu's question took her back, even though she already knew the answer. She would have been overwhelmed by the storm and died.

Kassy couldn't say anything in return since it was the truth. She wanted to leave but the look in Pohatu's eyes were clearly saying he wanted her to answer the question. "I could have died." she finally answered bowing her head ashamed. The stone Toa was about to say something but stopped as Kassy spoke up again.

"But I couldn't leave you out there to die!" she almost yelled out. Pohatu looked at Kassy obviously taken back by what she said. He then noticed small streams of tears rolling out from her eyes. Even though her concern was nothing to laugh at he couldn't help but chuckle.

"I wouldn't die that easily. It's a little hard to kill a stone Toa with part his own element. But I wasn't so much concerned with my own safety at that time. My duty was to make sure that you and the Turaga got away safely." he said. Getting up he walked towards her, he looked down at her with a softened smile. She didn't looking up, Kassy felt both ashamed and embarrassed. But one of Pohatu's hands slipped on to her cheek gently tilting her still tear stained cheeks up so that her eyes were now looking up into his.

"Still I do appreciate the concern. But next time please promise me you'll think about the consequences before rushing into danger." he said a very gently look in his eyes. Kassy nodded her head yes as she gave a hiccupping chuckle whipping the tears from her eyes.

"I will." she finally got out. At hearing that Pohatu felt much better. He just hoped that they wouldn't have to be put in another situation where Kassy had to keep her promise. Though he didn't admit it he had been scared to death when he saw Kassy coming through the sandstorm. But the worst was seeing he struggling for air as the sand from the storm clogged her lungs. Seeing her struggling in such pain was heart wrenching.

Suddenly his thoughts came to a stop as the world swayed around him. He stumbled but this time Kassy was there to catch him, at least the best she could. Doing her best to support the Toa's weight she couldn't stop him from falling to his knees but she did stop him from fully hitting the floor.

"I guess I'm still a bit drained." he said as the room stopped spinning. Kassy did her best to help him back over to his bed. Laying back down Pohatu let out a relaxed sigh once more closing his eyes as he did so.

Kassy watched him for a long moment as he rested. Then on an impulse she leaned down giving a quick, gently kiss to the cheek of his mask. At feeling this Pohatu opened his eyes, his warm amber orbs looking up at her with confusion and surprise.

"I never thanked you for saving my life." she said with a smile before getting up. "Rest, you deserve it more than anyone." Kassy said before getting up and walking to the hut's entrance. With one last look back she left, leaving him to regain his strength. Pohatu watched her leave, once she was gone the stone Toa closed his eyes a bright smile coming to his face. He could rest easy knowing that what he cared for was safe.

To be continued . . .

This chapter would have been up a lot sooner if my muse had only finished giving me the information I needed sooner. It was actually written backwards, the last section was written long before the beginning.

Now let me do reviews.

XD Violating the Prime Directive always brings laughs. Glad you liked it Flames Chaos and Wolf.

Oh, I know everyone is wanting to see that picture, Deadly Fangs and TigerToa. If the Toa saw the picture Kassy would never live it down.

Glad you came back and reviewed Twilight Spectrum. I'm also glad you decided to check out the story Dragontiger12. Ever reviewer gives me encouragement to continue.

As I've said before Wolf Girl811 I'm not planning to add Kassy's friends. Never planned to.

I find the romance pretty challenging but I'm glad you like it Athena's Assassin, Terminator Maker. Of course for someone as 'anti-romantic' as myself it's not surprising. :P

Well I finally updated TasumiDreamer, Snow246, InTheLight1396, Pampers Baby Dry, Rose. Keep the reviews coming. ^^

Onemythicalgirl, I can't really give away what will happen in future chapters but Makita 'might' make an appearance. Heh, everyone will have to wait and see.


	8. Chapter 8

Romancing the Stone . . . Toa

By Fatala

It's about time I got this chapter out. No, I'm not dead or 'retired' from the fanfiction world; although it may seem that way at times. I'm still alive and kicking though the real world is definitely slowing down my muses but I'm starting to find a nice balance between work and play.

Just a quick note about this chapter. For Ga-Koro I didn't follow a set view of it. With the video games, books, web comics, etc, it's hard to find a definitive description on how it looks. So in the end I decided to take some from the Bionicle video games and add a bit of my own imagination to the mix. I really like how I see it in my head; maybe I'll draw it once my drawing muse comes back from it's extended vacation.

Chapter 8: Apart

"Quite your whining." Kassy winced slightly as she could hear the smack Onewa's staff made as it hit Pohatu's head. The stone Toa rubbed his head as the Turaga continued. "You still haven't recovered; your not going anyways." Though it was obvious Pohatu wanted to dispute the subject, Onewa's staff in front of his face made him reconsider the idea. "You understand?" Onewa asked the stone Toa who nodded. "Good." he said pulling his staff away before turning back to Nokama, Gali, and Kassy. "Then we will you a safe journey. May Mata Nui watch over you all."

"Thank you brother." Nokama replied before turning to leave. Gali offered a farewell before following the Turaga. With an almost reluctant wave and a small smile Kassy jogged slightly to catch up to the two. Once they were nearly out of sight Pohatu couldn't help but prod his Turaga a bit more.

"I could just follow them out of the Po-Wahi, don't know what kind of rahi are out today." His 'suggestion' earned only a sigh from the elder.

"Gali can take care of them both. Now get back in the village you are in no condition to be out of your hut." The Turaga said using his staff to herd the large Toa back inside the village walls.

"I feel fine." Pohatu protested again. This time Onewa gave him a look before hitting Pohatu in the arm with his staff. Even though it wasn't that hard Pohatu winced in pain, holding his arm tenderly.

"That just proves my point." Normally such a small hit would have bounced right off without so much as a flinch. "Admit it. You need to rest." his elder said with wise eyes. This time there was no argument from the stone Toa. Pohatu knew he was still weak, though his energy was slowly returning it would take several days for him to be back to normal.

Content with the Toa's silent understanding of the situation Onewa left Pohatu alone to go back to his hut. Surprisingly the stone Toa did head towards his hut, though he didn't intend to stay there all day.

* * *

Kassy had to admit that it was different traveling with Nokama and Gali. She had grown use to Pohatu's friendly banter that easily passed the time and made everything see to fly by; of course that could just be his speed. Either way she found their quiet trip actually boring. Sure it was nice to actually see the scenery around her as they went, but at the rate they were going it would take forever to reach Ga-Koro.

Instead of just a few moment like it had taken when she was with Pohatu, it took a better part of the day to reach the end of the Po-Wahi desert. She was thankful for the change in temperature that came with the shady trees that kept the sun from blaring down so harshly. Both Nokama and Gali also seemed to enjoy the change as well.

Taking a short break Nokama looked over the stone that Kassy had told her about. After a short time of examining it she spoke up.

"It is very similar to a Toa Stone, though none that I have ever seen." Kassy nodded as the elder spoke though it was obvious that she had no clue what the Turaga meant. Picking up on this Nokama explained. "A Toa Stone is a stone which has been endowed with elemental energy by a Toa. Normally they are used to create new Toa, though I am not sure if that is its purpose."

"Then what is it for?"

"Even though they are usually used to awaken Toa powers within chosen Matoran they can also be used as like a beacon to guide Toa or in the case of Toa Gali and the others, guide their canisters to the island."

"So you think the stone was the means that allowed Kassy to come to the island?" Gali asked speaking up now that her elder had finished speaking.

"It is a logical conclusion. Though it is just a speculation, I can not give a definitive answer until I have met with the Turaga." With that the small mid day break was over.

* * *

Ga-Koro was still another day's journey at their current pace. The small group didn't stop until some time after the sun had set and the stars had come out. Kassy was grateful to have sometime to truly rest, the small break they had before was far too short.

After a short meal they settled down for the night. Turaga Nokama was asleep while Toa Gali remained on watch, though after a couple hours it appeared there was nothing to watch out for. Kassy didn't fall asleep, instead she stared up at the stars. She tried to find something that looked familiar in the night sky; but she found nothing, not even the Big Dipper. There was one thing that stood out among the otherwise 'normal' stars. What appeared to be a large red comet glowed and flicker high above, it stuck out like a sore thumb around the mostly white and pale blue stars that decorated the heavens around it.

Besides that she also found herself staring at what appeared to be twin moons over head; or at least that's what she perceived them to be. The hazy brown 'moon' was much larger than the bright green 'moon' that was fading out of sight behind it's larger counter part. Was it on a different orbital plane or was the 'planet' she was on just a moon for the much larger brown orbital body?

Her musing was cut short as she heard something. Sitting up Kassy looked around for Gali but didn't see the female Toa who had gone out to make sure no predator's were nearby. Again the same rustling noise was heard, this time it was obvious which direction it was coming from. Expecting to see a wild animal, she turned to look towards the forest. But there was no wild animal, only a large outline of brown that was not from the trees.

But before she could call out to Pohatu he moved farther back into the forest. Looking over her shoulder, Kassy saw that Turaga Nokama was still asleep. Slowly and quietly not to disturb the elder she got up before slipping into the forest where the stone Toa had disappeared into. Walking in farther she found that she had lost him, or so she thought as a pair of large hands came around her shoulders.

"Hey, there." She looked up to see, Pohatu smiling down at her.

"I thought you were suppose to stay back at the village to recover." Kassy said pulling out of his grasp, turning and putting her hands on her hips but her semi serious attitude did nothing to deter the large Toa's smile.

"I did. At least for awhile." he said the smile slipping away replaced by a sheepish look. "Though Turaga Onewa would probably chase me from here to Le-Koro and back if he knew I came all the way out here."

"He would." Kassy said now amused. "And Turaga Nokama would probably throw you into the nearest lake. I'm sure Gali would help." she egged on earning a shudder from the giant stone Toa.

"Don't give them any ideas." he said putting the thought of water out of his mind. She couldn't help but chuckle at the look on the stone Toa's face.

"Why shouldn't I?" Kassy teased. "I'm sure they'd like some of the ideas I could come up with. And you are the one who wasn't suppose to leave Po-Koro." At this Pohatu straightened back up.

"And you were told to not stray from the camp site; right?" The stone Toa knew that Turaga Nokama would want to make sure Kassy did find any danger. A fully organic would be an easy target for the many predators on the island.

"How long have you been following us?" she threw back not expecting him to have over heard that. He couldn't have been following before without Gali sensing his presence.

"Long enough." he chuckled. Sure he had just caught up to the group when Gali went out for another round but Kassy didn't need to know that. "So how was the trek?" Pohatu asked changing the subject.

"It was quiet; saw some small Rahi." Kassy answered. She couldn't remember the name Gali and Nokama had told her.

"That boring, huh?" Pohatu said after he took note of the almost disinterested tone in her voice.

"What? I said no such thing." she retorted slightly taken back by the Toa's suggestion, even though it was for the most part true.

"You didn't have to." he said with another chuckle.

"For your information it was not boring, we talked a lot along the way." Ok, that was definitely stretching the true but she wasn't gonna let him know that. "Actually Turaga Nokama had some ideas about the stone." Pohatu expression became more serious than playful as he waited for Kassy to explain. He had seen it for a moment when she had give it to the water Turaga. Seeing it then reminded him that he had seen it once before when Kassy and him first went to the oasis, though at that time he had no clue what it was or how important it may be.

"What did she say?" he asked when she didn't explain right away.

"She said that it's like a Toa Stone. Though Nokama's not completely sure, she thinks it may have been the thing that brought me here." she said, though purposely leaving out the part that Nokama had added later.

* * *

_"If the stone brought me here, can it send me back?" Kassy had asked shortly after their small break. There was no immediate answer as they walked. With Nokama's drawn out silence she had a feeling that the answer she received would not be the one she wanted._

_"Toa Stones are only meant to be used once." Nokama said quietly not looking back. Somehow Kassy knew it wouldn't be that easy, things were never that way. Even Gali's comforting hand on her shoulder did little to help dissipate the disappointment she felt._

_

* * *

_

The words from earlier made her more homesick then she had before. At least before she was completely in the dark about her situation, but know it was painful to believe that she may not return to her world let alone her home. But she hid what she felt keeping her expression the same as the stone Toa thought about what he just heard.

He didn't get long to think as he heard someone coming. From the voice he could tell that it was his water sister looking for Kassy.

"Opps, guess that's my cue to go." Pohatu said his voice lower than before so the approaching water Toa wouldn't hear him. "I'll meet up with you later." he continued flashing a goofy grin. But instead of departing immediately he quickly whispered something and kissed her cheek before disappearing into the forest.

The quick kiss took Kassy off guard, and she was barely able to get out a 'Hey!' before he was gone. Just then Gali pushed a couple large ferned branches out of her way revealing where Kassy was.

"There you are." she said stepping into the small clearing Kassy stood looking surprised at seeing Gali, or so that was what the water Toa believed. "I was worried to return and find you not there. What are you doing out here?" Shaking off her surprised flush Kassy answered quickly, probably too quickly.

"I had to go to the bathroom." she said as she walked past Gali towards their camp sight. The water Toa watched her go with a confused expression. Before following she looked around the area. Obviously Kassy hadn't been alone she deduced at looking at the barely noticeable path leading away from the area. She chuckled slightly at her stone brother's poor attempt to cover his tracks. Gali shook her head knowingly before she headed back.

* * *

The rest of the trip to Ga-Koro was made mostly in silence, neither Kassy nor Gali told Turaga Nokama about last night. But the old Turaga was not in the dark as they thought. Yet she let them continue as if nothing had happened.

Coming from the forest they came to a wide river, and began to follow it towards the coastline. It didn't take long for Kassy to hear the roaring sound of water as it fell hundreds for feet to a rocky alcove below. Getting closer the sound grew until the waterfall itself could be seen.

At the edge of the cliff Kassy looked to see the water tumbling far below and the village of Ga-Koro sitting peacefully near it seemingly undisturbed by the rumbling water torrent nearby.

"I shall go see if Turaga Matau and brother Lewa have arrived yet." With that Gali ran leaping off the edge diving into the deep water below the waterfall. Turaga Nokama chuckled as Kassy looked down the waterfall slack jawed at what the water Toa did. It wasn't everyday she saw someone jump from the top of a 100ft tall waterfall.

"Come, we shall take the long way down." she said snapping the human girl out of her stare. Taking one more look back at the falls Kassy was more than glad to be taking the 'long way'; that short cut would be a killer for her. Instead of taking the same route as Gali, Nokama led her down a small path which started down the cliff side. The path didn't last long as it came to an end still a good 85 ft from the bottom. But at the end was, what looked like a elevator of sorts but instead of being made of steel and wire cables it looked to be constructed out of wood, palms and some seaweed with a thick rope in place of what would be the cable.

Turaga Nokama opened the small wooden door before hopping into one side leaving enough room for Kassy to get in comfortably. Despite her weight on one side it didn't tip in any way, remaining perfectly level even as she got in. Once she was in and the door was shut Nokama pulled a level which started the gears above to rotate. There was a slight swing as it started up but it quickly smoothed out as the rope started to turn with the gears slowly bring it down.

Reaching the bottom, the 'elevator' slowly came to a stop. Once out Nokama proceeded to lead Kassy off land and on to a road of bamboo sticks which was much like a bridge over the water. Looking around she could now see that the various huts were not floating by themselves but had been built on incredibly oversized lily pads. Not all the buildings were on these lily pads. The larger buildings were built on secured rafts of wood and bamboo. Even with the constant light waves from the water that was constantly coming over the waterfall, none of the building showed signs of movement.

As in Po-Metru there were many Matoran walking around, some stopping to watch curiously or to greet Nokama. What Kassy noticed immediately was that the Matoran were mostly different shades of blue instead of Po-Koro brown and tan. She also noticed was they were all female; there wasn't any male Matoran around. Now that she thought about it, Gali was the only female Toa in the group. Did that mean that all the other villages only had male Matoran and Turaga? Talk about a male dominated society, in the most literal sense.

Kassy was brought out of her thoughts as she heard a familiar voice. Looking ahead she saw Gali waiting next to an enthusiastic Lewa and another Turaga. 'Must be Matau.' thought Kassy as they came over approached. If each Toa had a different Turaga then there was still plenty of people she had to meet.

To be continued. . .

I hope you all enjoyed this chapter as much as I did writing it. If your wonder what Pohatu whispered to Kassy; maybe I'll reveal it later. Until then I leave it up to your own imagination. Heh.

Thank you to all my reviewers. Can't really give out plot details but things will get interesting in coming chapters. Stay tuned for more.

R&R please!


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